Conditions and If Statements

You have already learned that C supports the usual logical conditions from
mathematics:

a < b
a <= b
a > b
a == b
a != b

You can use these conditions to perform different actions for different decisions.

C has the following conditional statements:

*Use if - to specify a block of code to be executed(TSABOCTBE), if a specified

condition is true
*Use else - TSABOCTBE, if the same condition is false
*Use else if - to specify a new condition to test, if the first condition is false
*Use switch - to specify many alternative blocks of code to be executed

The if Statement

Syntax
if ( condition ) {
// block of code to be executed if the condition is true
}

Note that if is in lowercase letters. Uppercase letters (If or IF) will generate an
error.
In the example below, we test two values to find out if 20 is greater than 18. If
the condition is true , print some text:

Example
if (20 > 18) {
printf("20 is greater than 18");
}

We can also test variables:

Example
int x = 20;
int y = 18;
if (x > y) {
printf("x is greater than y");
}

Example explained
In the example above we use two variables, x and y , to test whether x is greater
than y (using the > operator). As x is 20, and y is 18, and we know that 20 is
greater than 18, we print to the screen that "x is greater than y".

#The else Statement

Syntax
if ( condition ) {
// block of code to be executed if the condition is true
} else {
// block of code to be executed if the condition is false
}

Example
int time = 20;
if (time < 18) {
printf("Good day.");
} else {
printf("Good evening.");
}
// Outputs "Good evening."

Example explained
In the example above, time (20) is greater than 18, so the condition is false .
Because of this, we move on to the else condition and print to the screen "Good
evening". If the time was less than 18, the program would print "Good day".

#The else if Statement

Syntax
if ( condition1 ) {
// block of code to be executed if condition1 is true
} else if ( condition2 ) {
// block of code to be executed if the condition1 is false and condition2 is true
} else {
// block of code to be executed if the condition1 is false and condition2 is false
}

Example
int time = 22;
if (time < 10) {
printf("Good morning.");
} else if (time < 20) {
printf("Good day.");
} else {
printf("Good evening.");
}
// Outputs "Good evening."
Try it Yourself »

Example explained
In the example above, time (22) is greater than 10, so the first condition is false
. The next condition, in the
else if statement, is also false , so we move on to the else condition since
condition1 and condition2 is both false - and print to the screen "Good evening".
However, if the time was 14, our program would print "Good day."
Another Example
This example shows how you can use if..else to find out if a number is positive or
negative:

Example
int myNum = 10; // Is this a positive or negative number?
if (myNum > 0) {
printf("The value is a positive number.");
} else if (myNum < 0) {
printf("The value is a negative number.");
} else {
printf("The value is 0.");
}
Short Hand If...Else (Ternary Operator)

There is also a short-hand if else, which is known as the ternary operator because
it consists of three operands. It can be used to replace multiple lines of code
with a single line. It is often used to replace simple if else statements:

Syntax
variable = ( condition ) ? expressionTrue : expressionFalse ;

Instead of writing:

Example
int time = 20;
if (time < 18) {
printf("Good day.");
} else {
printf("Good evening.");
}
Try it Yourself »

You can simply write:

Example
int time = 20;
(time < 18) ? printf("Good day.") : printf("Good evening.");
Try it Yourself »

It is completely up to you if you want to use the traditional if...else statement

or the ternary operator.

#Switch Statement
Instead of writing many if..else statements, you can use the switch statement.
The switch statement selects one of many code blocks to be executed:
Syntax
switch( expression) {
case x:
// code block
break;
case y:
// code block
break;
default:
// code block
}

This is how it works:

The switch expression is evaluated once The value of the expression is compared
with the values of each case If there is a match, the associated block of code is
executed .
The break statement breaks out of the switch block and stops the execution

The default statement is optional, and specifies some code to run if there is no
case match

The example below uses the weekday number to calculate the weekday name:

Example
int day = 4;
switch (day) {
case 1:
printf("Monday");
break;
case 2:
printf("Tuesday");
break;
case 3:
printf("Wednesday");
break;
case 4:
printf("Thursday");
break;
case 5:
printf("Friday");
break;
case 6:
printf("Saturday");
break;
case 7:
printf("Sunday");
break;
}
// Outputs "Thursday" (day 4)
Try it Yourself »

#break Keyword
When C reaches a break keyword, it breaks out of the switch block.

This will stop the execution of more code and case testing inside the block.

When a match is found, and the job is done, it's time for a break. There is no need
for more testing.

A break can save a lot of execution time because it "ignores" the execution of all
the rest of the code in the switch block.

The default Keyword

The default keyword specifies some code to run if there is no case match:
Example
int day = 4;
switch (day) {
case 6:
printf("Today is Saturday");
break;
case 7:
printf("Today is Sunday");
break;
default:
printf("Looking forward to the Weekend");
}
// Outputs "Looking forward to the Weekend"
Try it Yourself »

Note: The default keyword must be used as the last statement in the switch, and it
does not need a break.
#Loops
Loops can execute a block of code as long as a specified condition is reached.

Loops are handy because they save time, reduce errors, and they make code more
readable.

*While Loop
The while loop loops through a block of code as long as a specified condition is
true :

Syntax
while ( condition ) {
// code block to be executed
}
In the example below, the code in the loop will run, over and over again, as long
as a variable ( i ) is less than 5:

Example
int i = 0;
while (i < 5) {
printf("%d\n", i);
i++;
}
Try it Yourself »

Note: Do not forget to increase the variable used in the condition ( i++ ),
otherwise the loop will never end!
*The Do/While Loop
The do/while loop is a variant of the while loop. This loop will execute the code
block once, before checking if the condition is true, then it will repeat the loop
as long as the condition is true.

Syntax
do {
// code block to be executed
}

*while ( condition );
The example below uses a do/while loop. The loop will always be executed at least
once, even if the condition is false, because the code block is executed before the
condition is tested:

Example
int i = 0;
do {
printf("%d\n", i);
i++;
}
while (i < 5);
Try it Yourself »

Do not forget to increase the variable used in the condition, otherwise the loop
will never end!

#For Loop
When you know exactly how many times you want to loop through a block of code, use
the for loop instead of a while loop:
Syntax
for ( statement 1 ; statement 2 ; statement 3 ) {
// code block to be executed
}
Statement 1 is executed (one time) before the execution of the code block.
Statement 2 defines the condition for executing the code block.
Statement 3 is executed (every time) after the code block has been executed.
The example below will print the numbers 0 to 4:
Example
int i;
for (i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
printf("%d\n", i);
}
Try it Yourself »
Example explained
Statement 1 sets a variable before the loop starts (int i = 0).
Statement 2 defines the condition for the loop to run (i must be less than 5). If
the condition is true, the loop will start over again, if it is false, the loop
will end.
Statement 3 increases a value (i++) each time the code block in the loop has been
executed.
Another Example
This example will only print even values between 0 and 10:
Example
for (i = 0; i <= 10; i = i + 2) {
printf("%d\n", i);
}
Try it Yourself »
Nested Loops
It is also possible to place a loop inside another loop. This is called a nested
loop .
The "inner loop" will be executed one time for each iteration of the "outer loop":
Example
int i, j;
// Outer loop
for (i = 1; i <= 2; ++i) {
printf("Outer: %d\n", i); // Executes 2 times
// Inner loop
for (j = 1; j <= 3; ++j) {
printf(" Inner: %d\n", j); // Executes 6 times (2 * 3)
}
}

#C Break and Continue

*Break
You have already seen the break statement used in an earlier chapter of this
tutorial. It was used to "jump out" of a switch statement.
The break statement can also be used to jump out of a loop .
This example jumps out of the for loop when i is equal to 4:

Example
int i;
for (i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
if (i == 4) {
break;
}
printf("%d\n", i);
}
Try it Yourself »

*Continue
The continue statement breaks one iteration (in the loop), if a specified condition
occurs, and continues with the next iteration in the loop.
This example skips the value of 4:

Example
int i;
for (i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
if (i == 4) {
continue;
}
printf("%d\n", i);
}
Try it Yourself »

Break and Continue in While Loop

You can also use break and continue in while loops:

*Break Example
int i = 0;
while (i < 10) {
if (i == 4) {
break;
}
printf("%d\n", i);
i++;
}
Try it Yourself »

Continue Example
int i = 0;
while (i < 10) {
if (i == 4) {
i++;
continue;
}
printf("%d\n", i);
i++;
}