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)

Misconceptions about Conditional

21 documented Misconceptions

BaseCaseNotNeeded

Recursive computations do not necessarily need a base case

ConditionalIsSequence

If-else is equivalent to sequence of two ifs

ElsIf

There is an elsif keyword for multi-way conditional statements

ElseAlwaysExecutes

The else branch of an if-else statement always executes

ForIsConditional

The body of a for statement executes at most once

IfIsLoop

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

IfRequiresElse

Every if statement requires an else

LoopTerminatingCondition

For and while loops end when the condition becomes true

MapToBooleanWithConditionalOperator

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

MapToBooleanWithIf

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

RecursiveMethodNeedsIfElse

A recursive method needs to contain an if-else statement