Conditionals#

Conditional statements are at the core of computer programming. They are how we tell the computer when we would like a particular block of code executed. Without them, the same code would run every time in the exact same order, and that wouldn't be very interesting.

The most common type of conditional operator is the if/else operator. Simply, this operator checks if something is true, and then does something if it is, and something else if it is not true. Let's see an example:

number = 42;

if (number < 50) {
    print("The number is less than 50");
} else if (number == 50){
    print("The number is equal to 50");
} else {
    print("The number is greater than 50");
}

Take note of the form of this comparison. We start with the keyword if, and then follow with a comparison in parentheses, in this case (number < 50). Then we have the block of code to execute if this is true with {}. This is followed by the keyword else, and another block of code to execute if the comparison is false, again between {}.

Comparison operators#

There are a number of comparison operators that we can use in conditional statements:

number = 42;
//smaller_than
number < 50;

//smaller_or_equal
number <= 50;

//greater_than
number > 50;

//greater_or_equal
number >= 50;

//equal
number == 50;

//not_equal
number != 50;

These operators are empowering as they allow fine control when used with an if-else statement.