Difference between revisions of "Basic Pascal Tutorial/Chapter 3/IF"

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m (Text replace - "delphi>" to "syntaxhighlight>")
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The <tt>IF</tt> statement allows you to branch based on the result of a Boolean operation. The one-way branch format is:
 
The <tt>IF</tt> statement allows you to branch based on the result of a Boolean operation. The one-way branch format is:
<delphi>
+
<syntaxhighlight>
 
if BooleanExpression then
 
if BooleanExpression then
 
   StatementIfTrue;  
 
   StatementIfTrue;  
</delphi>
+
</syntaxhighlight>
  
 
If the Boolean expression evaluates to <tt>true</tt>, the statement executes. Otherwise, it is skipped.
 
If the Boolean expression evaluates to <tt>true</tt>, the statement executes. Otherwise, it is skipped.
  
 
The <tt>IF</tt> statement accepts only one statement. If you would like to branch to a compound statement, you must use a <tt>begin-end</tt> to enclose the statements:
 
The <tt>IF</tt> statement accepts only one statement. If you would like to branch to a compound statement, you must use a <tt>begin-end</tt> to enclose the statements:
<delphi>
+
<syntaxhighlight>
 
if BooleanExpression then
 
if BooleanExpression then
 
begin
 
begin
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   Statement2
 
   Statement2
 
end;  
 
end;  
</delphi>
+
</syntaxhighlight>
  
 
There is also a two-way selection:
 
There is also a two-way selection:
<delphi>
+
<syntaxhighlight>
 
if BooleanExpression then
 
if BooleanExpression then
 
   StatementIfTrue
 
   StatementIfTrue
 
else
 
else
 
   StatementIfFalse;  
 
   StatementIfFalse;  
</delphi>
+
</syntaxhighlight>
  
 
If the Boolean expression evaluates to <tt>FALSE</tt>, the statement following the <tt>else</tt> will be performed. Note that you may not use a semicolon after the statement preceding the <tt>else</tt>. That causes the computer to treat it as a one-way selection, leaving it to wonder where the else came from.
 
If the Boolean expression evaluates to <tt>FALSE</tt>, the statement following the <tt>else</tt> will be performed. Note that you may not use a semicolon after the statement preceding the <tt>else</tt>. That causes the computer to treat it as a one-way selection, leaving it to wonder where the else came from.
  
 
If you need multi-way selection, simply nest <tt>if</tt> statements:
 
If you need multi-way selection, simply nest <tt>if</tt> statements:
<delphi>
+
<syntaxhighlight>
 
if Condition1 then
 
if Condition1 then
 
   Statement1
 
   Statement1
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   else
 
   else
 
     Statement3;
 
     Statement3;
</delphi>
+
</syntaxhighlight>
  
 
Be careful with nesting. Sometimes the computer won't do what you want it to do:
 
Be careful with nesting. Sometimes the computer won't do what you want it to do:
<delphi>
+
<syntaxhighlight>
 
if Condition1 then
 
if Condition1 then
 
   if Condition2 then
 
   if Condition2 then
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else
 
else
 
   Statement1;
 
   Statement1;
</delphi>
+
</syntaxhighlight>
  
 
The <tt>else</tt> is always matched with the most recent <tt>if</tt>, so the computer interprets the preceding block of code as:
 
The <tt>else</tt> is always matched with the most recent <tt>if</tt>, so the computer interprets the preceding block of code as:
<delphi>
+
<syntaxhighlight>
 
if Condition1 then
 
if Condition1 then
 
   if Condition2 then
 
   if Condition2 then
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   else
 
   else
 
     Statement1;
 
     Statement1;
</delphi>
+
</syntaxhighlight>
  
 
You can get by with a null statement:
 
You can get by with a null statement:
<delphi>
+
<syntaxhighlight>
 
if Condition1 then
 
if Condition1 then
 
   if Condition2 then
 
   if Condition2 then
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else
 
else
 
   Statement1;
 
   Statement1;
</delphi>
+
</syntaxhighlight>
  
 
Or you could use a <tt>begin-end</tt> block. But the best way to clean up the code would be to rewrite the condition.
 
Or you could use a <tt>begin-end</tt> block. But the best way to clean up the code would be to rewrite the condition.
<delphi>
+
<syntaxhighlight>
 
if not Condition1 then
 
if not Condition1 then
 
   Statement1
 
   Statement1
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   if Condition2 then
 
   if Condition2 then
 
     Statement2;
 
     Statement2;
</delphi>
+
</syntaxhighlight>
  
 
This example illustrates where the not operator comes in very handy. If Condition1 had been a Boolean like: <tt>(not(a < b) or (c + 3 > 6)) and g</tt>, reversing the expression would be more difficult than NOTting it.
 
This example illustrates where the not operator comes in very handy. If Condition1 had been a Boolean like: <tt>(not(a < b) or (c + 3 > 6)) and g</tt>, reversing the expression would be more difficult than NOTting it.

Revision as of 14:36, 24 March 2012

3Ca - IF (author: Tao Yue, state: unchanged)

The IF statement allows you to branch based on the result of a Boolean operation. The one-way branch format is:

if BooleanExpression then
  StatementIfTrue;

If the Boolean expression evaluates to true, the statement executes. Otherwise, it is skipped.

The IF statement accepts only one statement. If you would like to branch to a compound statement, you must use a begin-end to enclose the statements:

if BooleanExpression then
begin
  Statement1;
  Statement2
end;

There is also a two-way selection:

if BooleanExpression then
  StatementIfTrue
else
  StatementIfFalse;

If the Boolean expression evaluates to FALSE, the statement following the else will be performed. Note that you may not use a semicolon after the statement preceding the else. That causes the computer to treat it as a one-way selection, leaving it to wonder where the else came from.

If you need multi-way selection, simply nest if statements:

if Condition1 then
  Statement1
else
  if Condition2 then
    Statement2
  else
    Statement3;

Be careful with nesting. Sometimes the computer won't do what you want it to do:

if Condition1 then
  if Condition2 then
    Statement2
else
  Statement1;

The else is always matched with the most recent if, so the computer interprets the preceding block of code as:

if Condition1 then
  if Condition2 then
    Statement2
  else
    Statement1;

You can get by with a null statement:

if Condition1 then
  if Condition2 then
    Statement2
  else
else
  Statement1;

Or you could use a begin-end block. But the best way to clean up the code would be to rewrite the condition.

if not Condition1 then
  Statement1
else
  if Condition2 then
    Statement2;

This example illustrates where the not operator comes in very handy. If Condition1 had been a Boolean like: (not(a < b) or (c + 3 > 6)) and g, reversing the expression would be more difficult than NOTting it.

Also notice how important indentation is to convey the logic of program code to a human, but the compiler ignores the indentation.


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