Chapter 5: Making

Decisions
 Objectives
• Plan decision-making logic
• Make decisions with the if and if…else
statements
• Use multiple statements in if and if…else
clauses
• Nest if and if…else statements
• Use AND and OR operators

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 Objectives (cont’d.)
• Make accurate and efficient decisions
• Use the switch statement
• Use the conditional and NOT operators
• Assess operator precedence
• Add decisions and constructors to instance methods

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 The if and if…else Statements
• if statement
– The simplest statement to make a decision
– A Boolean expression appears within parentheses
– No space between the keyword if and the opening
parenthesis
– Execution always continues to the next independent
statement
– Use a double equal sign ( == ) to determine equivalency

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 The if and if…else Statements
(cont’d.)

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 Pitfall: Misplacing a Semicolon in
an if Statement
• There should be no semicolon at the end of the first
line of the if statement
– if(someVariable == 10)
– The statement does not end there
• When a semicolon follows if directly:
– An empty statement contains only a semicolon
– Execution continues with the next independent statement

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 Pitfall: Misplacing a Semicolon in
an if Statement (cont’d.)

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 Pitfall: Using the Assignment Operator
Instead of the Equivalency Operator
• Attempt to determine equivalency
– Using a single equal sign rather than a double equal sign is
illegal
• You can store a Boolean expression’s value in a
Boolean variable before using it in an if statement

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Pitfall: Attempting to Compare Objects
Using the Relational Operators
• Use standard relational operators to compare values
of primitive data types
– Not objects
• You can use the equals and not equals comparisons
( == and != ) with objects
– Compare objects’ memory addresses instead of values

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 The if…else Statement
• Single-alternative if
– Perform an action, or not
• Based on one alternative
• Dual-alternative if
– Two possible courses of action
• if…else statement
– Performs one action when a Boolean expression evaluates
as true
– Performs a different action when a Boolean expression
evaluates as false

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 The if…else Statement (cont’d.)
• if…else statement (cont’d.)
– A statement that executes when if is true or false
and ends with a semicolon
– Vertically align the keyword if with the keyword else
– Illegal to code else without if
– Depending on the evaluation of the Boolean expression
following if, only one resulting action takes place

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 The if…else Statement (cont’d.)

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 Using Multiple Statements
in if and if…else Clauses
• To execute more than one statement, use a pair of
curly braces
– Place dependent statements within a block
– Crucial to place the curly braces correctly
• Any variable declared within a block is local to that
block

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Using Multiple Statements in if and
if…else Clauses (cont’d.)

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 Nesting if and if…else
Statements
• Nested if statements
– Statements in which an if structure is contained inside
another if structure
– Two conditions must be met before some action is taken
• Pay careful attention to the placement of else
clauses
• else statements are always associated with if on a
“first in-last out” basis

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 Nesting if and if…else
Statements (cont’d.)

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 Using Logical AND and OR
Operators
• The logical AND operator
– An alternative to some nested if statements
– Used between two Boolean expressions to determine
whether both are true
– Written as two ampersands ( && )
• Include a complete Boolean expression on each side
– Both Boolean expressions that surround the operator must
be true before the action in the statement can occur

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 Using Logical AND and OR
Operators (cont’d.)

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 Using Logical AND and OR
Operators (cont’d.)
• The OR operator
– An action to occur when at least one of two conditions is
true
– Written as ||
• Sometimes called pipes

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 Using Logical AND and OR
Operators (cont’d.)

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 Making Accurate and Efficient
Decisions
• Making accurate range checks
– Range check: a series of if statements that determine
whether a value falls within a specified range
– Java programmers commonly place each else of a
subsequent if on the same line
– Within a nested if…else statement:
• It is most efficient to ask the most likely question first
• Avoid asking multiple questions

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 Making Accurate and Efficient
Decisions (cont’d.)

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 Making Accurate and Efficient
Decisions (cont’d.)
• It is most efficient to ask a question most likely to be
true first
– Avoids asking multiple questions
– Makes a sequence of decisions more efficient

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 Making Accurate and Efficient
Decisions (cont’d.)

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 Using && and || Appropriately
• Errors of beginning programmers:
– Using the AND operator when they mean to use OR
• Example: No payRate value can ever be both less than 5.65 and
more than 60 at the same time
if(payRate < LOW && payRate > HIGH)
System.out.println("Error in pay rate");
• Use pipes “||” operator instead
– Using a single ampersand or pipe to indicate a logical AND
or OR

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 Using the switch Statement
• switch statement
– An alternative to a series of nested if statements
– Test a single variable against a series of exact integer,
character, or string values

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 Using the switch Statement
(cont’d.)
• Keywords
– switch
• Starts the structure
• Followed by a test expression enclosed in parentheses
– case
• Followed by one of the possible values for the test expression and
a colon

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 Using the switch Statement
(cont’d.)
• Keywords (cont’d.)
– break
• Optionally terminates a switch statement at the end of each
case
– default
• Optionally is used prior to any action that should occur if the test
variable does not match any case

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 Using the switch Statement
(cont’d.)

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 Using the switch Statement
(cont’d.)
• break statements in the switch structure
– If a break statement is omitted:
• The program finds a match for the test variable
• All statements within the switch statement execute from that
point forward
• case statement
– No need to write code for each case
– Evaluate char variables
• Ignore whether it is uppercase or lowercase

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 Using the switch Statement
(cont’d.)
• Why use switch statements?
– They are convenient when several alternative courses of
action depend on a single integer, character, or string
value
– Use only when there is a reasonable number of specific
matching values to be tested

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 Using the Conditional
and NOT Operators (cont’d.)
• A Boolean expression is evaluated as true or
false
– If the value of testExpression is true:
• The entire conditional expression takes on the value of the
expression following the question mark
– If the value is false:
• The entire expression takes on the value of falseResult
• An advantage of using the conditional operator is the
conciseness of the statement

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 Understanding Operator
Precedence (cont’d.)

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 Understanding Operator
Precedence (cont’d.)
• Two important conventions
– The order in which operators are used makes a difference
– Always use parentheses to change precedence or make
your intentions clearer

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 Understanding Operator
Precedence (cont’d.)

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