Problem Solving with

Decisions
CHAPTER 5

BY H ALHUSSAINI & S ALZAHRANI - IMAM UNIVERSITY PPDEANSHIP 1

 Overview
 Decision Logic Structure
 Single If/Then/Else Instruction
 One Condition
• Single Selection IF/Then
• Double Selection If/Then/Else
 Multiple Condition
 Multiple If/Then/Else Instructions
• Straight-Through logic
• Positive Logic
• Negative logic
• Logic conversion
 Decision Table

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BY H ALHUSSAINI & S ALZAHRANI - IMAM UNIVERSITY PPDEANSHIP 3
Decision Logic Structure
 The decision structure is one of the most powerful structures because it is the
only way that the computer can choose between two or more sets of actions.

 The decision logic structure uses the If/Then/Else instruction.

 It tells the computer that If a condition is true, Then execute a set of

instructions, or Else execute another set of instructions.

The Else part is optional.

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Common Form of decision structure

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Decision Logic Structure
 A condition can be one of four things:
1- A logical expression, that is, an expression that uses logical operators (AND,
OR, and NOT)

2- An expression using relational operators (<, <=, >, >=, =, and < >).

3- A variable of the logical data type (True, False).

4- A combination of logical, relational, and mathematical operators.

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Decision Logic Structure
 Some examples of conditional expressions are as follows:
1. A < B (A and B are the same data type—either numeric, character, or string)

2. X + 5 > = Z (X and Z are numeric data)

3. E < 5 OR F > 10 (E and F are numeric data)

4. DataOk (DataOk is a logical datum)

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Decision Logic Structure
 Logical operators are used to link more than one condition together.
For example: ( Check < 50 AND DriverLicense ) note: the data type of
DriverLicense is logical.

 The programmer can set up the conditions for a decision through the use of
operands and various operators.
These conditions can be used alone or linked with other conditions for use in
the instruction.
The programmer derives the information needed to set up the condition(s) for a
decision from the problem itself during problem analysis

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Decision Logic Structure
In the figure, the resultant of the condition(s) can be True or
False depending on the data.
 From the decision block (the diamond), there will one branch
for the instructions to be executed if the resultant is True,
and another branch for the instructions to be executed if
the resultant is False.
The True branch and the False can come from any of
the lower three points of the diamond.
The convention is to draw the True branch on the right and
the False branch on the left or bottom.

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Common Forms
 Single If/Then/Else instruction
 One Condition
1- The Single Selection If/Then
2- The Double Selection If/Then/Else

 Multiple Condition

 Multiple If/Then/Else instructions

• Straight-through Logic
• Positive logic
• Negative logic

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One Condition (Single Selection: If/Then)
 One condition and only one instruction (true section) no else part.

 Example: write an algorithm and corresponding flowchart that read a student

grade on a test which is out of 10, then alerts the student if his grade is under 4.

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One Condition (Double Selection: If/Then /Else)
 One condition and two instruction ( true section + false section ).

 Example: write an algorithm and corresponding flowchart to calculate the pay

at an hourly rate, and overtime pay (over 40 hours) at 1.5 times the hourly rate.
- Hourly rate: Pay=PayRate * Hours
- Overtime pay: Pay=PayRate * (40 + 1.5 * (Hours-40))

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Multiple Condition
 Decision in which you have multiple conditions that lead to one action or set of
actions for True and False are slightly more complicated than those with single
condition.

 In these decisions you will use logical operators to connect the conditions.

 The decision structure becomes more complicated as the number of conditions

and/or the number of actions for a True or False resultant increases.

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Multiple If/Then/Else Instructions
 There are three types of decision logic you will use to write algorithms for
solutions consisting of more than one decision :
1. Straight-through Logic
2. Positive logic
3. Negative logic

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Straight-Through Logic
 Straight-through logic means that all of the decisions are processed
sequentially, one after the other.

 There is no Else part of the instructions; the False branch always goes to the
next decision, and the True branch goes to the next decision after the
instructions for the True branch have been processed.

 With decisions following Straight-through logic, all conditions are tested. To test
a condition means to process a condition to get a True or False resultant.

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Straight-Through Logic (Contin.)
 Straight-through logic is the least efficient of all types of decision logic Why??

 You must use it to solve certain problems, those that require two or more
unrelated decisions, and those in which all decisions must be processed,
Example: in data validation (checking data to make sure it is correct)

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Straight-Through Logic (Contin.)
Example: Write an algorithm to change the value of X to 0 when X becomes
greater than 100, and to change the value of Y to 0 when Y becomes greater
than 250.

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BY H ALHUSSAINI & S ALZAHRANI - IMAM UNIVERSITY PPDEANSHIP 20
Positive logic
 Positive logic is the easiest type for most people to use and understand
because it is the way we think.

Positive logic always uses nested If/Then/Else instructions.

 When you use positive logic, you are telling the computer to follow a set of
instructions and continue processing if the condition is True; if the condition is
not True, then the computer processes another decision.

 When you use this logic, no more decisions are processed once the resultant of
a condition is True.

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Positive logic (Contin.)

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Negative logic
 Negative logic is similar to positive logic except that the flow of the processing
continues through the module when the resultant of a decision is False.

 When you use negative logic you are telling the computer to process another
decision when the resultant of the condition is True; if the resultant is False,
then the computer processes a consequent set of instructions and continues
processing the module.

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Negative logic (Contin.)

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Logic Conversion
 Sometimes you have to change the logic from positive to negative or vice versa
in order to improve the efficiency or readability of a solution.

 In a decision, there must always be instructions for a True section, but not
always for a False section. If there are no instructions for the True section of a
decision instruction, then it is better to convert the logic type.

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Logic Conversion (Contin.)
To convert from positive logic to negative logic or vice versa, do the following:
1. Change all < to >=
2. Change all <= to >
3. Change all > to <=
4. Change all >= to <
5. Change all = to <>
6. Change all <> to =
7. Interchange all of the Then set of instructions with the corresponding Else set
of instructions.

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Logic Conversion (Contin.)
Example: Find the amount to charge people of varying ages for a concert ticket.
When the person is under 16, the charge is $7; when the person is 65 or over, the
charge is $5; all others are charged $10.
The conditions are the following:
Age Charge
Age < 16 $7
Age > = 16 and Age < 65 $10
Age > = 65 $5

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Conversion from Positive Logic to Negative Logic

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Conversion from Positive Logic to Negative Logic

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Decision Table
 A good way to simplify the process of discovering complicated actions and
conditions is to draw a decision table.
 A Decision table consist of 4 parts:
1. The conditions
2. The actions
3. The combinations of True and False for the conditions
4. The action to be taken or the consequences for each combination of
conditions.

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Decision Table Format

Note: The total number of possible combinations of True or False for the
conditions is 2^ #conditions

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Decision Table Example
Set up a decision table for a store policy for charging a purchase.
There are three conditions:
1. The purchase is less than $100.
2. The last payment to the account was made in the last 30 days.
3. The balance of the account is less than $1000.
The following actions could be taken:
1. Credit is okay, and the customer can charge the item.
2. Refer the customer to the credit department.
3. Credit is denied and the customer cannot charge the item.
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Decision Table Example (Contin.)

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Flowchart development from the
decision table
The four steps to develop a flowchart from the decision table are:
1. Draw all decisions in flowchart form.
2. Compare the true and false sides of each decisions, starting with the first
one.
3. Eliminate any decisions that have the same instructions on both the true and
false sides, keeping the true consequence or action.
4. Redraw the flowchart.

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Questions?

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