Controlling Program Flow
The objectives of the presentaion are:
To explain boolean expressions
To describe controlling program flow using if and
switch statements
To explain the three Java looping mechanisms
for
while
do while
Java Dr. Ashraf Uddin 1
Boolean Expressions
Boolean expressions are those expressions which return
either true or false.
The return type of a boolean expression is boolean.
some other programming languages represent the return value of
boolean expressions as integral values.
Boolean expressions use the relational and equality
operators as well as logical AND and OR.
>, >=, <, <=
!=, ==
&&, ||
Boolean expressions can be used to control program flow.
Java Dr. Ashraf Uddin 2
Truth Tables
Boolean algebra is based on Truth Tables
For A and B, both A and B must be true for the expression to
evaluate to true.
For A or B, either A or B can be true and the expression will
evaluate to true.
AND OR
A false true A false true
B B
false false false false false true
true false true true true true
Java Dr. Ashraf Uddin 3
Truth Tables Cont’d
Java also has an operator for logical NOT (!).
Use parentheses to aid readability
if ((x == 5) && !(y > 50))
statement1;
NOT
A
false true
true false
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Expression "Short Circuiting"
Boolean expressions are "Short Circuited"
Because of the nature of the truth table for AND, if any of the
operands are false, the whole expression evaluates to false.
Sub expressions need not be evaluated
A similar case exists with OR. If any of the operands are
true, the whole expression evaluates to true.
In this example, if x is not equal to 5 the second expression
(y>50) will not be evaluated because the first operand to &&
is false.
if ((x == 5) && (y > 50))
statement1;
Java Dr. Ashraf Uddin 5
Tips for Boolean Expressions
One of the most common mistakes is using the assignment
operator instead of testing equality.
mistake:
if (x = 5) instead of
if (x == 5)
statement1; statement1;
Although logical AND (&&) has a higher precedence than
logical OR (||), it is a good idea to use parentheses to aid
readability.
if ( ((x == 5) && (y > 50)) || (x>50))
statement1;
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If statements
The general form is:
if (boolean-expression)
statement1;
else
statement2;
If the boolean expression evaluates to true, statement1 is
executed. If false, statement2 is executed.
The else clause is optional.
If more than one statement is to be executed, the statements
must be grouped in a block.
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If statements using blocks
When executing multiple statements:
if (boolean-expression)
{
statement1;
statement2;
statement3;
}
else
{
statement4;
statement5;
statement6;
}
Statement indentation and placement of curly braces should
enhance readability.
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Nested if statements
If statements can be nested. When doing so, it is
recommended that curly braces and indentation be used to
clearly show the structure of the code.
if (boolean-expression)
{
if (boolean-expression)
{
statement1;
}
else
{
statement2;
}
}
else
{
statement3;
}
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Ternary Operator -- ?:
The ternary operator is a shortcut for the following code:
if (boolean-expression)
result = value1;
else
result = value2;
general syntax: (boolean-expression)? value1 : value2
If the boolean expression evaluates true, the whole
expression evaluates to value1. Otherwise, it is value2.
if (x > y)
z = (x > y)? x : y; is equivalent to: z = x;
else
z = y;
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Switch Statement
Sometimes, using if-else statements can become unruly:
if (x == 1)
statement1;
else if (x == 2)
statement2;
else if (x == 3)
statement3;
else if (x == 4)
statement4;
[ ... ]
Code structures like this are difficult to read and maintain.
The switch statement is a better choice.
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Switch Statement Cont’d
General Syntax:
switch( integer_expression )
{
case constant1:
statement1;
break;
case constant2:
statement2;
break;
case constant3:
statement3;
break;
default:
statement4;
}
The integer expression is evaluated
Control passes to the case whose integer constant matches the value of
the expression.
If there is no match, control passes to the default case. If no default case
is present, control leaves the switch statement.
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Notes on the Switch statement
The condition is an integer value.
The case value must be known at compile time. It is good
coding practice to use final variables as case constants.
The default case is optional.
The break statement causes execution to leave the
switch statement. If the break statement is not present,
execution will continue to the next statement, even if it is
within another case.
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Loops
Loops are used to execute statements or blocks multiple
times based on a looping condition.
Java has three types of loops:
while loops
do while loops
for loops
Care should be taken whenever a loop is used to avoid an
endless loop.
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while loops
The while loop is the most basic loop in Java.
while (boolean-expression)
{
statement1;
[...]
}
The loop body will continue to execute as long as the looping
condition is true. The looping condition is tested upon entry
and when the loop body is completed.
If the loop body consists of a single statement, the curly
braces are not necessary.
If the looping condition is false upon entry, the loop body will
not be executed.
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do while loops
The do-while loop is identical to the while loop except that the
test is evaluated at the end of the loop.
do
{
statement1;
[...]
} while (boolean-expression);
Because the looping condition is evaluated at the end of the
loop body, the loop body is guaranteed to execute at least
once.
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Loops - Examples
What will these loops output?
int x = 0; int x = 0;
while(x<10) while(x<10)
{ {
System.out.println(x++); System.out.println(++x);
} }
int x = 0;
do
{
System.out.println(x);
x = x+1;
} while(x<10);
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Loops - Common Errors
What are the errors in these loops?
endless loop
int x = 0;
while(x<10);
{
System.out.println(x++);
}
endless loop
int x = 0;
do
{
System.out.println(x);
} while(x<10);
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Loop Components
Each loop has 4 main components
int x = 0; 1. Initialize loop variable
while ( x < 10) 2. Test loop variable
{
statement1; 3. Loop Body
[...]
x = x + 1; 4. Increment loop variable
}
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for loop
The syntax of the for loop makes the 4 parts of the loop
explicit.
for (i = 0; i < 10; i++)
syntax:
{
statement1;
[...]
}
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Notes about loops
The test condition on the for loop is the same as the while
loop. The loop body is executed while the condition is true.
The initialization and increment portions of the for loop
are optional. However, the semicolons must be present.
If the test condition is omitted, the test is always true.
for loops are generally used when the number of times the
loop is to be executed is known.
Do not adjust the looping variable within the loop
while and do-while loops are used when the number of times
the loop is to be executed is not known.
The focus is "while" this condition is true.
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break revisited
We previously see the break statement used in switch
statements.
break can also be used with loops.
The break statement will cause the flow of execution to break
out of the current loop.
If loops are nested, break will cause control to leave the
inner-most loop.
int x = 0;
while ( x < 10)
{
if (y > 100)
break;
[...]
x = x + 1;
}
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continue
continue is similar to break.
continue causes execution to go back to the loop test
condition. If the test condition is true, the loop will be
executed again. If not, the loop body is exited.
int x = 0;
while ( x < 10)
{
if (y > 100)
continue;
[...]
x = x + 1;
}
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Notes about break and continue
Do not overuse break and continue.
break and continue are structured goto statements.
The overuse of break and continue usually indicates a poor
design.
Re-design and re-write is usually the best solution.
Overuse of if and switch statements generally indicates a
procedural solution.
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Review
What are boolean expressions?
How are boolean expressions used to change program flow?
What is short circuiting? Why is it important?
What is the general form of an if statement?
What is the purpose of the switch statement?
Name the three types of loops in Java
How are while and do while loops different?
What do the break and continue statements do?
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