Is there a name for this anti-pattern/code smell?

Question

Let me start by saying that I do not advocate this approach, but I saw it recently and I was wondering if there was a name for it I could use to point the guilty party to. So h

Answer 1

I am not sure this is an anti-pattern. I have commonly seen this used instead of exceptions for performance reasons, or perhaps to make the fact that the method can fail more explicit. To me, it seems to be a personal preference rather than an anti-pattern.