Conditional

In a conditional statement or expression the value of a condition determines which alternative pieces of code to execute.

Related concepts:  StatementExpressionControl Flow

Closest Wikipedia entry:  Conditional (computer programming) — In computer science, conditionals (that is, conditional statements, conditional expressions and conditional constructs) are programming language constructs that perform different computations or actions or return different values depending on the value of a Boolean expression, called a condition. Conditionals are typically implemented by selectively executing instructions. Although dynamic dispatch is not usually classified as a conditional construct, it is another way to select between alternatives at runtime.

Misconceptions about Conditional

23 documented Misconceptions

BaseCaseNotNeeded — Java

Recursive computations do not necessarily need a base case

BaseCaseNotNeeded — Scratch

Recursive computations do not necessarily need a base case

ConditionOneOutEdge — Java

A condition node in a control-flow graph can have a single outgoing edge

ConditionalIsSequence — Java

If-else is equivalent to sequence of two ifs

ConditionalIsSequence — Python

If-else is equivalent to sequence of two ifs

ConditionalIsSequence — Scratch

If-then-else block is equivalent to sequence of two if-then blocks

ConditionalOperatorNotExpression — JavaScript

The conditional operator is not an expression

ElsIf — Java

There is an elsif keyword for multi-way conditional statements

ElseAlwaysExecutes — Java

The else branch of an if-else statement always executes

ElseAlwaysExecutes — Scratch

The else branch of an if-then-else block always executes

ForIsConditional — Java

The body of a for statement executes at most once

IfIsLoop — Java

The body of an if statement executes repeatedly, as long as the condition holds

IfIsLoop — Python

The body of an if-statement executes repeatedly, as long as the condition holds

IfRequiresElse — Java

Every if statement requires an else

LoopTerminatingCondition — Java

For and while loops end when the condition becomes true

MapToBooleanWithConditionalOperator — Java

To map a boolean expression to a boolean, a conditional operator is necessary

MapToBooleanWithIf — Java

To map a boolean expression to a boolean, an if statement is necessary

MapToBooleanWithIf — Python

To map a boolean expression to a bool, an if statement is necessary

MapToBooleanWithTernaryOperator — Python

To map a boolean expression to a bool, a ternary conditional operator is necessary

MissingElseTerminates — Scratch

Blocks following an if without else will not execute if the condition is false

RecursiveFunctionNeedsIfElse — Python

A recursive function needs to contain an if-else statement

RecursiveMethodNeedsIfElse — Java

A recursive method needs to contain an if-else statement

StatementMultipleOutEdges — Java

A non-condition node in a control-flow graph can have multiple outgoing edges