CHAPTER 3

Decision
Structures and
Boolean Logic
 Topics
• The if Statement
• The if-else Statement
• Comparing Strings
• Nested Decision Structures and the if-elif-else
Statement
• Logical Operators
• Boolean Variables
 The if Statement
• Control structure: logical design that
controls order in which set of
statements execute
• Sequence structure: set of statements
that execute in the order they appear
• Decision structure: specific action(s)
performed only if a condition exists
• Also known as selection structure
 The if Statement (cont’d.)
• In flowchart, diamond represents
true/false condition that must be tested
• Actions can be conditionally executed
• Performed only when a condition is true
• Single alternative decision structure:
provides only one alternative path of
execution
• If condition is not true, exit the structure
The if Statement (cont’d.)
 The if Statement (cont’d.)
• Python syntax:
if condition:
Statement
Statement
• First line known as the if clause
• Includes the keyword if followed by condition
• The condition can be true or false
• When the if statement executes, the condition is
tested, and if it is true the block statements are
executed. otherwise, block statements are skipped
 Boolean Expressions and
Relational Operators
• Boolean expression: expression tested
by if statement to determine if it is true
or false
• Example: a > b
• true if a is greater than b; false otherwise
• Relational operator: determines
whether a specific relationship exists
between two values
• Example: greater than (>)
 Boolean Expressions and
Relational Operators (cont’d.)
• >= and <= operators test more than one
relationship
• It is enough for one of the relationships to
exist for the expression to be true
• == operator determines whether the
two operands are equal to one another
• Do not confuse with assignment operator (=)
• != operator determines whether the
two operands are not equal
 Boolean Expressions and
Relational Operators (cont’d.)
 Boolean Expressions and
Relational Operators (cont’d.)
• Using a Boolean expression with the >
relational operator
 Boolean Expressions and
Relational Operators (cont’d.)
• Any relational operator can be used in
a decision block
• Example: if balance == 0
• Example: if payment != balance
• It is possible to have a block inside
another block
• Example: if statement inside a function
• Statements in inner block must be indented
with respect to the outer block
 The if-else Statement
• Dual alternative decision structure: two
possible paths of execution
– One is taken if the condition is true, and the
other if the condition is false
• Syntax: if condition:
statements #TRUE
else:
other statements #FALSE
• if clause and else clause must be aligned
• Statements must be consistently indented
The if-else Statement
(cont’d.)
The if-else Statement
(cont’d.)
 Comparing Strings
• Strings can be compared using the ==
and != operators
• String comparisons are case sensitive
• Strings can be compared using >, <, >=,
and <=
• Compared character by character based on
the ASCII values for each character
• If shorter word is substring of longer word,
longer word is greater than shorter word
Comparing Strings (cont’d.)
Nested Decision Structures and
the if-elif-else Statement
• A decision structure can be nested
inside another decision structure
• Commonly needed in programs
• Example:
• Determine if someone qualifies for a loan, they
must meet two conditions:
• Must earn at least $30,000/year
• Must have been employed for at least two years
• Check first condition, and if it is true, check second
condition
Nested Decision Structures and the
if-elif-else Statement (cont’d.)
• Important to use proper indentation in a
nested decision structure
• Important for Python interpreter
• Makes code more readable for programmer
• Rules for writing nested if statements:
• else clause should align with matching if clause
• Statements in each block must be consistently
indented
The if-elif-else Statement
• if-elif-else statement: special version of
a decision structure
• Makes logic of nested decision structures simpler to
write
• Can include multiple elif statements
• Syntax: if condition_1:
statement(s)
elif condition_2:
statement(s) Insert as many elif clauses
elif condition_3: as necessary.
statement(s)
else
statement(s)
The if-elif-else Statement
(cont’d.)
• Alignment used with if-elif-else
statement:
• if, elif, and else clauses are all aligned
• Conditionally executed blocks are consistently
indented
• if-elif-else statement is never required,
but logic easier to follow
• Can be accomplished by nested if-else
• Code can become complex, and indentation can cause
problematic long lines
 Logical Operators
• Logical operators: operators that can
be used to create complex Boolean
expressions
• and operator and or operator: binary
operators, connect two Boolean expressions
into a compound Boolean expression
• not operator: unary operator, reverses the
truth of its Boolean operand
 The and Operator
• Takes two Boolean expressions as
operands
• Creates compound Boolean expression that is
true only when both sub expressions are true
• Can be used to simplify nested decision
structures Expression Value of the
Expression
• Truth table for false and false false
the and operator false and true false
true and false false
true and true true
 The or Operator
• Takes two Boolean expressions as
operands
• Creates compound Boolean expression that is
true when either of the sub expressions is true
• Can be used to simplify nested decision
structures Expression Value of the
Expression
• Truth table for false and false false
the or operator false and true true
true and false true
true and true true
 Short-Circuit Evaluation
• Short circuit evaluation: deciding the
value of a compound Boolean
expression after evaluating only one
sub expression
• Performed by the or and and operators
• For or operator: If left operand is true, compound
expression is true. Otherwise, evaluate right
operand
• For and operator: If left operand is false,
compound expression is false. Otherwise, evaluate
right operand
 The not Operator
• Takes one Boolean expressions as
operand and reverses its logical value
• Sometimes it may be necessary to place
parentheses around an expression to clarify
to what you are applying the not operator
• Truth table for the not operator
Expression Value of the Expression
true false
false true
 Checking Numeric Ranges
with Logical Operators
• To determine whether a numeric value
is within a specific range of values, use
and
Example: x >= 10 and x <= 20
• To determine whether a numeric value
is outside of a specific range of values,
use or
Example: x < 10 or x > 20
 Boolean Variables
• Boolean variable: references one of two
values, True or False
• Represented by bool data type
• Commonly used as flags
• Flag: variable that signals when some
condition exists in a program
• Flag set to False  condition does not exist
• Flag set to True  condition exists
 Summary
• This chapter covered:
• Decision structures, including:
• Single alternative decision structures
• Dual alternative decision structures
• Nested decision structures
• Relational operators and logical operators as used in
creating Boolean expressions
• String comparison as used in creating Boolean
expressions
• Boolean variables