Chapter 3

Decisions

Dr. Asma Wasfi

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Chapter Goals
• To implement decisions using the if statement
• To compare integers, floating-point numbers, and Strings
• To write statements using the Boolean data type
• To develop strategies for testing your programs
• To validate user input

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Outline
3.1 The if Statement
3.2 Relational Operators
3.3 Nested Branches
3.4 Multiple Alternatives
3.7 Boolean Variables and Operators
3.8 Analyzing Strings
3.9 Application: Input Validation

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3.1 The if Statement

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3.1 The if statement
q A computer program often needs to make decisions based on input, or circumstances
q The two keywords of the if statement are:
o if
o else
q Two methods to use if statement:
If conditions: # if the condition is true, then, execute statements. Otherwise, skip statement
statement
Or
If conditions: # if the condition is true, then, execute statement1. Otherwise, execute statement2
statement1
else
statement2

q The conditions are usually written using relational and logical operators such as: <, >, <=, and, or
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3.1 The if statement
Flowchart of the if Statement
Ø For example, buildings often ‘skip’ the 13th floor, and elevators should too
Ø The 14th floor is really the 13th floor
Ø So every floor above 12 is really ‘floor - 1’
If floor > 12, Actual floor = floor - 1
True (if) branch or False (else) branch

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3.1 The if statement
Flowchart with only a True Branch
Ø An if statement may not need a ‘False’ (else) branch

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3.1 The if statement

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3.1 The if statement: Elevator Example

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3.1 The if statement: Practice Example

q Write a python program to check if the number is divisible by 5 or not

number = int(input("Enter a number: "))

if (number%5 == 0):
print("Number is divisible by 5")
else:
print("Number is not divisible by 5")

q Exercise: Write a python program to check if the number is odd or even

number = int(input("Enter a number: "))

if number%2 == 0:
print("Given number is Even")
else:
print("Given number is Odd")

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Compound Statement

q Some constructs in Python are compound statements.

q compound statements span multiple lines and consist of a header and a statement
block
q The if statement is an example of a compound statement
q Compound statements require a colon “:” at the end of the header.
q The statement block is a group of one or more statements, all indented to the
same column
q The statement block starts on the line after the header and ends at the first
statement indented less than the first statement in the block

x=7
y=9
if x > 5:
x = x + 5
y = y + 1
print("x= ", x , "y= ", y) #output x=12 y=10

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Compound Statement

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The Conditional Operator

q A “shortcut” for the if else statement

q statement1 if condition else statement2

print("Good Morning") if time <12 else print("Good evening")

True branch Condition False branch

print("Good Morning") if time <12 else print("Good evening")

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3.2 Relational Operators

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3.2 Relational Operators
q Every if statement has a condition
q Usually compares two values with an operator
Hint: Do not mix between python == and math notation =

if floor > 13 :
..
if floor >= 13 :
..
if floor < 13 :
..
if floor <= 13 :
..
if floor == 13 :
..

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Assignment vs Equality Testing

q Assignment: makes something true.

x = 12
q Equality testing: checks if something is true.
x == 12

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Comparing Strings

q Checking if two strings are equal

if name1 == name2 :
print("The strings are identical")

q Checking if two strings are not equal

if name1 != name2 :
print("The strings are not identical")

q For two strings to be equal, they must be of the same length and contain the same se
quence of characters:
name1 = A H M A D S A I D !
name2 = A H M A D S A I D !

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Comparing Strings

q If any character is different, the two strings will not be equal:

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Relational Operator Examples

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 Common Error (Floating Point)
q Floating-point numbers have only a limited precision, and calculations can introduce roundoff errors.
q You must take these inevitable roundoffs into account when comparing floating point numbers.

import math
r = math.sqrt(2.0)
if r * r == 2.0
print("sqrt(2.0) squared is 2.0")
else :
print("sqrt(2.0) squared is not 2.0 but", r * r)
Output
sqrt(2.0) squared is not 2.0 but 2.0000000000000004

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 The Use of EPSILON
q Use a very small value to compare the difference to determine if floating-point values are ‘close enough’
Ø The magnitude of their difference should be less than some threshold
Ø Mathematically, we would write that x and y are close enough if:

import math
r = math.sqrt(2.0)
if r * r == 2.0
print("sqrt(2.0) squared is 2.0")
else :
print("sqrt(2.0) squared is not 2.0 but", r * r)

import math
EPSILON = 1E-14
r = math.sqrt(2.0)
if abs(r * r - 2.0) < EPSILON :
print("sqrt(2.0) squared is approximately 2.0")

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Lexicographical Order for Strings
q To compare Strings in ‘dictionary’ like order:
string1 < string2
q Notes for Lexicographical Order :
q All UPPERCASE letters come before lowercase
q ‘space’ comes before all other printable characters
q Digits (0-9) come before all letters
q See Appendix A for the Basic Latin (ASCII) Subset of Unicode
o Example1 :
if 'A'>'a' :
print(' A > a ')
else:
print(' A < a ')
#output A < a

o Example2 :
if 'a' >'9' :
print(' a > 9 ')
else:
print(' a < 9 ')
#output a > 9
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 Operator Precedence
q The comparison operators have lower precedence than arithmetic operators
Ø Calculations are done before the comparison

floor = 1
height = 0

if floor > height + 1 :

print("Yes")
else:
print("No")
#output No

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 Example
q The university bookstore has a Kilobyte Day sale every October 24 (10.24), giving an 8 percent
discount on all computer accessory purchases if the price is less than $128, and a 16 percent
discount if the price is at least $128. Write a Python program to find the discounted price if the
purchase is 140$ or 100$

originalPrice = 140
if originalPrice < 128 :
discountRate = 0.92
else :
discountRate = 0.84
discountedPrice = discountRate * originalPrice
print ("The discounted price is : " , discountedPrice)

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3.3 Nested Branches

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3.3 Nested Branches
q Nested Branches:
• Refers to the use of if statement inside another if or else statement.

time > 12
time = int(input('Enter the time as a value between 5 and 24: '))
if time > 12:
if time <= 18: True False
print('Good Afternoon')
else: time <= 18 print("Good Morning")
print('Good Evening')
else:
print("Good Morning") True False

print("Good Afternoon") print("Good Evening")

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 3.3 Nested Branches: example
# Get the student's exam score and attendance
exam_score = float(input("Enter the student's exam score (0-100): "))
attendance = int(input("Enter the number of classes attended (0-20): ")) exam_score >= passing_score
# Define the passing criteria

passing_score = 60
required_attendance = 15 True False

# Check if the student passed Print(“Congratulations! …..”) Print(“Sorry, you

if exam_score >= passing_score: attendance >= required_attendance did …..”)
print("Congratulations! You passed the exam.")

True False

print("Your attendance print("Your attendance

# Now, check attendance is good…. ”) is low…. ”)
if attendance >= required_attendance:
print("Your attendance is good. Keep it up!")
else:
print("Your attendance is low. Attend more classes to improve.")
else:
print("Sorry, you did not pass the exam. Study harder for the next one.")

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3.3 Nested Branches: Tax example

Single
<= 32000
> 32000

Married
<= 64000
> 64000

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3.3 Nested Branches: Flowchart for the Tax
Example

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3.3 Nested Branches: Flowchart for the Tax Example

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Nested if Statement

# Nested if statement example

x = 10
y = 5

if x > 5:
if y > 3:
print("Both x and y are greater than their respective thresholds.")
else:
print("x is greater than 5, but y is not greater than 3.")
else:
print("x is not greater than 5.")

# Output:
# Both x and y are greater than their respective thresholds.

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3.4 Multiple Alternatives

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3.4 Multiple Alternatives
q The keywords of the if statement are:
• if
• elif
• else
q Once condition is true, the
corresponding statements is
executed, and the remaining
elif will not be executed.

q The final else statement will

be executed if all conditions
are false.

q The last else is optional.

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3.4 Multiple Alternatives: Example
q Table 4 shows the earthquake value and the effect of each value. Write a python
program that display the effect based on the entered value.

q The different conditions are as below:

Ø 8 (or greater)
Ø 7 to 7.99
Ø 6 to 6.99
Ø 4.5 to 5.99
Ø Less than 4.5

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3.4 Multiple Alternatives: Example flowchart
True
>= 8.0? Most Structures Fall

False
True
>= 7.0? Many Buildings Destroyed

False
True Many buildings considerably damaged
>= 6.0?
, some collapse

False
True
Damage to poorly constructed building
>= 4.5?
s
False
No destruction of buildings

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3.4 Multiple Alternatives: Example

q Python Code for earthquake Example:

if richter >= 8.0 : # Handle the ‘special case’ first

print("Most structures fall")
elif richter >= 7.0 :
print("Many buildings destroyed")
elif richter >= 6.0 :
print("Many buildings damaged, some collapse")
elif richter >= 4.5 :
print("Damage to poorly constructed buildings")
else : # so that the ‘general case’ can be handled last
print("No destruction of buildings")

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3.7 Boolean Variables and
Operators

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3.7 Boolean Variables and Operators
q A Boolean variable is often called a flag because it can be either:
Ø True
Ø False

q Example:
isAvailable = True

q There are three Boolean Operators: and, or, not

Ø They are used to combine multiple conditions.

• Example1:
number >= 0 and number <= 40

• Example2:
if temp > 0 and temp < 100 :
print("Liquid")

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Combined Conditions: and
q Combining two conditions is often used in range checking
q Is a value between two other values?

q Both sides of the and must be true for the result to be true

• Example:

temp=int(input("Enter water temperature"))

if temp > 0 and temp < 100 :
print("Liquid")
else:
print("Not Liquid")

# when temp = 50 output is Liquid

# when temp = 120 output is Not Liquid

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Combined Conditions: or
q Combining two conditions is often used in range checking
q Is a value between two other values?

q Both sides of the and must be true for the result to be true

• Example:

temp=int(input("Enter water temperature"))

if temp <= 0 or temp >= 100 :
print("Not liquid")

q If either condition is true

Ø The result is true

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Combined Conditions: not
q If you need to invert a boolean variable or comparison, precede it with not

• Example1:

if not attending or grade < 60 :

print("Drop?")

• Example2:

if attending and not(grade < 60) :

print("Stay")

q If either condition is true

Ø The result is true

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Boolean Operator Examples

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Example
num1 = 5
num2 = 10
num3 = 15
num4 = 20
print( num1 == num2) #False
print( num1 <= num4) #True
print( num1 != num3) #True
print (num1 <= num2 – 5) #True
print (num1 < num2 or num1 > num4) #True
print (num1 < num2 and num1 > num4) #False
print (not (num1 < num2 or num1 > num4)) #False

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3.8 Analyzing Strings

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3.8 Analyzing Strings
q Sometimes it’s necessary to analyze or ask certain questions about a particular string.
q Sometimes it is necessary to determine if a string contains a given substring. That is,
one string contains an exact match of another string.

q Given this code segment,

name = "John Wayne "
q The code
"Way " in name
q The output for this code is True because the substring "Way " occurs within the string stored
in variable name.

q The not in operator is the inverse on the in operator

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Operations for Testing Substrings

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Operations for Testing Substrings
q Example:

# Sample input string

s = "Hello, world!"
# Check if 'Hello' is in the string
contains_hello = 'Hello' in s
# Check if 'world' is not in the string
not_contains_world = 'world' not in s
# Check if the string starts with 'He'
starts_with_he = s.startswith('He')
# Output the results
print('Hello in s: ' + str(contains_hello) )
print('world not in s:' + str(not_contains_world))
print('s starts with He' + str(starts_with_he))

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Operations for Testing Substrings
q Example:

# Sample input string

s = "Hello, world!"
# Check if the string ends with 'ld!'
ends_with_ld = s.endswith('ld!')
# Check if 'lo, wo' is a substring of the string
substring_lo_wo = 'lo, wo' in s
# Check if 'planet' is a substring using find (returns -1 if not found)
find_planet = s.find('planet')
# Check if 'world' is a substring using find
find_world=s.find('world')
# Output the results
print('ends with ld!: ' + str(ends_with_ld))
print('lo, wo in s : ' + str(substring_lo_wo))
print('planet in s using find: '+ str(find_planet))
print('world in s using find returns the lowest index in the string world: '+ st
r(find_world))

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Testing String Characteristics

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Testing String Characteristics
q Example:

# Sample input string

s = "Hello123"
# Check if all characters are alphanumeric
is_alphanumeric = s.isalnum()
# Check if all characters are alphabetic
is_alpha = s.isalpha()
# Check if all characters are digits
is_digit = s.isdigit()
# Output the results
print('Is alphanumeric: '+ str(is_alphanumeric))
print('Is alphabetic: ' + str(is_alpha))
print('Is digit: '+ str(is_digit))

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Testing String Characteristics

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Testing String Characteristics
q Example:

# Sample input string

s = "Hello World"
# Check if all characters are lowercase
is_lower = s.islower()
# Check if all characters are whitespace
is_space = s.isspace()
# Check if all characters are uppercase
is_upper = s.isupper()
# Output the results
print('Is lowercase: ' , is_lower)
print('Is whitespace: ' , is_space)
print('Is uppercase: ' , is_upper)

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Comparing and Analyzing Strings

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3.9 Input Validation

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Example

Test the program with a range of inputs including:

12, 14, 13, -1, 0, 23, 19

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Practice Examples
3.1 The if Statement

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 Practice Examples
3.2 Relational Operators

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 Practice Examples
3.3 Nested Branches

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 3000

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 Practice Examples
3.4 Multiple Alternatives

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 Practice Examples
3.7 Boolean Variables and
Operators

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 Practice Examples
3.8 Analyzing Strings

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