Selection Structures

Mirza Mohammad Lutfe Elahi

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU
 Control Structures
• Control structure
– Control the flow of execution in a program or a function

• Three kinds of control structures

– Sequence (Compound Statement)

– Selection (if and switch Statements)

– Repetition [Chapter 5]

• Selection control structure

– Chooses among alternative program statements

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU

 Compound Statement
• A group of statements bracketed by { and }
• Executed Sequentially
• A function body consists of a compound statement
{
statement1 ; Compound
statement2 ; Statement
. . . Specifies
Sequential
statementn ;
Execution
}

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU

 Conditions
• Condition
– An expression that evaluates to false (0) or true (1)

• Conditions are used in if statements, such as:

if (a >= b)
printf("a is greater or equal to b");
else
printf("a is less than b");

• The condition in the above example: (a >= b)

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU

 Relational and Equality Operators
Operator Meaning Type
< less than relational
> greater than relational
<= less than or equal to relational
>= greater than or equal to relational
== equal to equality
!= not equal to equality

• Evaluate to either false (0) or true (1)

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU

 Examples of Relational and Equality Operators

x i MAX y item mean ch num

-5 1024 1024 7 5.5 7.2 'M' 999

Operator Condition Value

<= x <= 0 true (1)
< i < MAX false (0)
>= x >= y false (0)
> item > mean false (0)
== ch == 'M' true (1)
!= num != MAX true (1)

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU

 Logical Operators
• Three Logical Operators
&& logical AND
|| logical OR
! logical NOT
• Truth Table for logical operators

A B (A && B) (A || B) !A
true true true true false
true false false true false
false true false true true
false false false false true

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU

 Logical Expressions
• Logical Expression
– Condition that uses one or more logical operators
salary children temperature humidity n
1050 6 38.2 0.85 101

Logical Expression Value

salary < 1000 || children > 4 true (1)
temperature > 35.0 && humidity > 0.90 false (0)
n >= 0 && n <= 100 false (0)
!(n >= 0 && n <= 100) true (1)

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU

 Comparing Characters
• We can also compare characters in C
– Using the relational and equality operators

Expression Value
'9' >= '0' 1 (true)
'a' < 'e' 1 (true)
'B' <= 'A' 0 (false)
'Z' == 'z' 0 (false)
'A' <= 'a' 1 (true)
ch >= 'a' && ch <= 'z' ch is lowercase?

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU

 English Conditions as C Expressions

English Condition Logical Expression

x and y are greater than z x > z && y > z

x is equal to 1 or 3 x == 1 || x == 3

x is in the range min to max x >= min && x <= max

x is outside the range z to y x < z || x > y

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU

 if Statement (One Alternative)
if (condition) statementT ;

if condition evaluates to true then statementT is executed;

Otherwise, statementT is skipped

Example:

if (x != 0.0)

product = product * x ;

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU

 if Statement (Two Alternatives)
if (condition) statementT ;
else statementF ;
if condition evaluates to true then statementT is executed
and statementF is skipped; Otherwise, statementT is
skipped and statementF is executed

Example:
if (x >= 0.0) printf("Positive");
else printf("Negative");

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU

 Flowcharts of if Statements

Two Alternatives One Alternative

if-else statement if statement

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU

 if with Compound Statements
if (ch >= 'A' && ch <= 'Z')

printf("Letter '%c' is Uppercase\n", ch);

ch = ch – 'A' + 'a';

printf("Converted to lowercase '%c'\n", ch);

else

printf("'%c' is not Uppercase letter\n", ch);

printf("No conversion is done\n");

}
CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU
 Hand Tracing an if Statement
if (x > y) /* switch x and y */
{
temp = x; /* save x in temp */
x = y; /* x becomes y */
y = temp; /* y becomes old x */
}

if statement x y temp Effect

12.5 5.0 ?
if (x>y) { 12.5>5.0 is true
temp = x ; 12.5 Store old x in temp
x = y ; 5.0 Store y in x
y = temp ; 12.5 Store old x in y
CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU
 Nested if Statements
• Nested if statement
– if statement inside another if statement
– Program decisions with multiple alternatives
• Example
if (x > 0)
num_pos = num_pos + 1;
else
if (x < 0)
num_neg = num_neg + 1;
else /* x equals 0 */
num_zero = num_zero + 1;

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU

 Multiple-Alternative Decision Form
• The conditions are evaluated in sequence until a true
condition is reached
• If a condition is true, the statement following it is executed,
and the rest is skipped
if (x > 0)
num_pos = num_pos + 1;
else if (x < 0) More
num_neg = num_neg + 1; Readable
else /* x equals 0 */
num_zero = num_zero + 1;

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU

 Sequence of if Statements
• All conditions are always tested (none is skipped)
• Less efficient than nested if for alternative decisions

if (x > 0)
num_pos = num_pos + 1;
Less
if (x < 0)
Efficient
num_neg = num_neg + 1;
than
if (x == 0)
nested if
num_zero = num_zero + 1;

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU

 Implementing a Decision Table
Use a multiple-alternative if statement to implement a
decision table that describes several alternatives

Salary Range ($) Base Tax Rate

Salary < $15,000 $0 15%
$15,000 ≤ Salary < $30,000 $2,250 18%
$30,000 ≤ Salary < $50,000 $4,950 22%
$50,000 ≤ Salary < $80,000 $9,350 27%
Salary  $80,000 $17,450 33%

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU

 Computing the Tax from a Table
if (salary < 15000)
tax = 0.15*salary;
else if (salary < 30000)
tax = 2250 + (salary – 15000)*0.18;
else if (salary < 50000)
tax = 4950 + (salary – 30000)*0.22;
else if (salary < 80000)
tax = 9350 + (salary – 50000)*0.27;
else
tax = 17450 + (salary – 80000)*0.33;

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU

 Road Sign Decision
• You are writing a program to control the warning
signs at the exists of major tunnels.

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU

 Road Sign Nested if Statement
if (road_status == 'S')
if (temp > 0) {
printf("Wet roads ahead\n");
printf("Stopping time = 10 minutes\n");
} C associates else with the most
else { recent incomplete if

printf("Icy roads ahead\n");

printf("Stopping time = 20 minutes\n");
}
else
printf("Drive carefully!\n");
CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU
 The switch Statement
• Can be used to select one of several alternatives
• Based on the value of a variable or simple expression
• Variable or expression may be of type int or char
• But not of type double
• Example: Simple Calculator
User Input Operation
'+' result = a + b;
'–' result = a – b;
'*' result = a * b;
'/' result = a / b;

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU

 Example of a switch Statement
switch (op) { // op must be of type char
case '+':
result = a + b;
break;
case '-':
result = a – b;
break;
case '*':
result = a * b;
break;
case '/':
result = a / b;
break;
default:
printf("Error: unknown operation %c\n", op);
}
CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU
 Explanation of switch Statement
• It takes the value of the character op and compares it to
each of the cases in a top down approach.
• It stops after it finds the first case that is equal to the
value of the variable op.
• It then starts to execute each line following the matching
case till it finds a break statement.
• If no case is equal to the value of op, then the default
case is executed.
• default is optional. If no other case is equal to the
value of the controlling expression and there is no
default case, the entire switch body is skipped.

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU

 More About the switch Statement
• One or more C statements may follow a case label.
• You do not need to enclose multiple statements in
curly brackets after a case label.
• You cannot use a string as a case label.
case "Add": is not allowed

• Do not forget break at the end of each alternative.

– If the break statement is omitted then execution falls
through into the next alternative.

• Do not forget the { } of the switch statement.

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU
 Nested if Versus switch
• Nested if statements
– More general than a switch statement
– Can implement any multiple-alternative decision
– Can be used to check ranges of values
– Can be used to compare double values

• switch statement
– Syntax is more readable
– Implemented more efficiently in machine language
– Use switch whenever there are few case labels
– Use default for values outside the set of case labels

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU

 Operator Precedence
Operator Precedence
function calls highest
! + - & (unary operators)
* / %
+ –
< <= >= >
== !=
&& (logical AND)
|| (logical OR)
= (assignment operator) lowest

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU

 Evaluation Tree, Step-by-Step Evaluation

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU

 Short-Circuit Evaluation
• Stopping the evaluation of a logical expression as soon
as its value can be determined
• Logical-OR expression of the form (a || b)
– If a is true then (a || b) must be true, regardless of b
– No need to evaluate b
– However, if a is false then we should evaluate b
• Logical-AND expression of the form (a && b)
– If a is false then (a && b) must be false, regardless of b
– No need to evaluate b
– However, if a is true then we should evaluate b
• Can be used to prevent division by zero
(divisor != 0 && x / divisor > 5)
CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU
 Logical Assignment
• Use assignment to set int variables to false or true
• The false value is zero
• C accepts any non-zero value as true
Examples of Logical Assignment
senior_citizen = (age >= 65);
even = (n%2 == 0);
uppercase = (ch >= 'A' && ch <= 'Z');
lowercase = (ch >= 'a' && ch <= 'z');
is_letter = (uppercase || lowercase);

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU

 Complementing a Condition
• DeMorgan's Theorem
!(expr1 && expr2) == (!expr1 || !expr2)
!(expr1 || expr2) == (!expr1 && !expr2)

Example Equivalent Expression

!(item == 5) item != 5

!(age >= 65) age < 65

!(n > 0 && n < 10) n <= 0 || n >= 10

!(x == 1 || x == 3) x != 1 && x != 3

!(x>y && (c=='Y' || c=='y')) (x<=y) || (c!='Y' && c!='y')

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU

 Common Programming Errors
• Do Not write: if (0 <= x <= 4)
– 0 <= x is either false (0) or true (1)
– Then, false(0) or true(1) are always <= 4
– Therefore, (0 <= x <= 4) is always true
• Instead, write: if (0 <= x && x <= 4)
• Do Not write: if (x = 10)
– = is the assignment operator
– x becomes 10 which is non-zero (true)
– if (x = 10) is always true
• Instead, write: if (x == 10)

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU

 More Common Errors
• In if statements:
– Don’t forget to parenthesize the if (condition)
– Don’t forget { and } in if with compound statements
• Correct pairings of if and else statements:
– C matches else with the closest unmatched if
• In switch statements:
– Make sure the controlling expression and case labels are of the
same permitted type (int or char)
– Remember to include the default case
– Don’t forget { and } for the switch statement
– Don’t forget the break at the end of each case

CSE 115 Programming Language I ECE@NSU