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For 2023 (and 2024 ...) - we are now fully retired from IT training.
We have made many, many friends over 25 years of teaching about Python, Tcl, Perl, PHP, Lua, Java, C and C++ - and MySQL, Linux and Solaris/SunOS too. Our training notes are now very much out of date, but due to upward compatability most of our examples remain operational and even relevant ad you are welcome to make us if them "as seen" and at your own risk.

Lisa and I (Graham) now live in what was our training centre in Melksham - happy to meet with former delegates here - but do check ahead before coming round. We are far from inactive - rather, enjoying the times that we are retired but still healthy enough in mind and body to be active!

I am also active in many other area and still look after a lot of web sites - you can find an index ((here))
Learning to program - the if statement. Python.

Statements in a program run sequentially, unless you add specific code to make them do otherwise, with each statement being separated from the next in some way or another.

Should you wish to run a statement in only some circumstances, you can use a conditional statement:
• the word if (if is available in every language that we teach)
• something which defines the condition under which the next element (statement) is to be run
• the statement that's actually to be run if the condition is true
and there's going to be some extra syntax to tell the language where the various elements start and end

Here's an example from yesterday's "Learning to program in Python" course:
  if weeklength < 5: print "OOh Extra Bank Holidaisies"
• the condition being checked is "is the content of the weeklength variable a number less than 5"
• the print statement is only to be performed if the condition check gives a true answer
And the extra syntax to keep the elements apart?
• there's a space between the word if and the conditional expression
• there's a colon between the condition itself and the statement that depends on the condition
• there's a new line to indicate the end of the whole conditional statement
In this form of the if statement in Python, the condition applies only to the statement to its right on the same line, and the following statement in the program will be performed next, whether the condition was false (in which case the conditional statement will be skipped) or true (in which case the conditional statement will NOT be skipped)

If I want to perform different tasks in different conditions, I can write a whole series of if statements, and they will be performed sequentially:
  if weeklength   5: print "OOh Extra Bank Holidaisies"
  if weeklength == 5: print "Normal week"
  if weeklength > 5: print "Back to historical times"

• The use of the double equals should be noted - it tests whether two values are equal. Python, in common with most language, uses double equals because the single equals sign means somethind different; the single equals is an assignment which says "work out what's on the right and save in to the variable on the left" - very rarely what we want to do as part of an if test.
• Care should be taken in using the == test on numbers which are floating point / real / decimal, as mathematical operations can lead to rounding errors which in some languages and circumstances will lead to your condition being evaluated as false when in theory it should be true.
•As well as < > and == operators, Python and most other languages support <= and >= and an "unequal" operator. Usually that's != but in Python you can also use <>.

You need to be very careful with your programming if you're always going to want one condition of a series of tests to be tru and the rest false ... it's all too easy to write a series of conditions that should provide a single true result, but in some special case or other provide multiple trues, or no trues at all. So there is a better way:
  if weeklength < 5: print "OOh Extra Bank Holidaisies"
  elif weeklength == 5: print "Normal week"
  else: print "Back to historical times"

• The elif (could be elsif or elseif in other languages) tests the condition on the second line but only if the first condition was false. So it ensures against multiple true results, and it also makes the code slighly more efficient as it runs, as the number of tests performed is reduced.
&bull The else introduced the block of code that's going to be performed only if the test with the if, and any tests with elifs, are all false. There's no extra condition attached to it, so it's always going to be performed if none of the other conditions is true - once again, reducing the number of tests that actually need to be run, and at the same time ensuring that one (and only one) of the conditional statements is run.

What if you want to run several statements if a condition is true? You could perform the test multiple times, but in any good language if you find yourself repeating something, there must be a better way. Firstly (not shown here), you can add a series of semicolon separated statements after the condition. Or - usually much better - you can provide a whole series of statements, each on its own line, and inset with spaces or tabs to indicate that it forms part of the block of conditional statements. For example:
  if weeklength < 5:
    print "OOh Extra Bank Holidaisies"
    print "Perhaps it's a Jubilee!"
  elif weeklength == 5:
    print "Normal week"
    print "Why are there no BH's from August to December"
  else:
    print "Back to historical times"

• The inset can be spaces or tabs (at least one character, and as many as you like, but consistent within the block)
• The block ends when the insetting ends

This block structure is strongly recommended every time you code and if statement - at least in your early coding days. For it allows you to come back to the program later on, and very easily add extra instructions within the conditional code without having to re-arrange / refactor. You're learning, even from your early coding, to write code which is robust, easy to follow, and easy to upgrade and maintain later on.

As taught on our Learning to Program in Python course.
Source code (and sample output) [here].

We run courses for newcomers to programming AND courses for experienced programmers converting to Python from another language.
Public course schedule [here].
If you have a group of delegates requiring the same course at the same time, we can also run a private course at our training centre or a private course at your offices.



(written 2012-06-12, updated 2012-06-16)

 
Associated topics are indexed as below, or enter http://melksh.am/nnnn for individual articles
Y103 - Python - Conditionals and Loops
  [299] What - no switch or case statement? - (2005-05-03)
  [353] Wimbledon Neck - (2005-06-20)
  [657] The ternary operator in Python - (2006-03-25)
  [668] Python - block insets help with documentation - (2006-04-04)
  [788] New - Conditional expressions in Python 2.5 - (2006-07-01)
  [835] Python - when to use the in operator - (2006-08-16)
  [909] Python is like a narrowboat - (2006-10-30)
  [1201] No switch in Python - (2007-05-23)
  [1477] Decisions - small ones, or big ones? - (2007-12-18)
  [1661] Equality, sameness and identity - Python - (2008-05-31)
  [1696] Saying NOT in Perl, PHP, Python, Lua ... - (2008-07-04)
  [2778] Learning to program in Python 2 ... and / or in Python 3 - (2010-05-24)
  [2899] Groupsave tickets - 3 or 4 train tickets for the price of 2 - (2010-08-02)
  [3083] Python - fresh examples from recent courses - (2010-12-11)
  [3200] How a for loop works Java, Perl and other languages - (2011-03-12)
  [3397] Does a for loop evaluate its end condition once, or on every iteration? - (2011-08-18)
  [3439] Python for loops - applying a temporary second name to the same object - (2011-09-14)
  [3558] Python or Lua - which should I use / learn? - (2011-12-21)
  [3620] Finding the total, average, minimum and maximum in a program - (2012-02-22)
  [3895] Flowchart to program - learning to program with Well House - (2012-10-14)
  [4092] Identity in Python - (2013-05-17)
  [4210] If elif elif elif - multiway selection in Python - (2013-11-16)
  [4322] Learning to Program - the conditional statement (if) - (2014-11-21)
  [4323] Learning to program - Loop statements such as while - (2014-11-22)
  [4402] Finding sum, minimum, maximum and average in Python (and Ruby) - (2015-01-19)
  [4541] Setting up and tearing down with the Python with keyword - (2015-10-16)
  [4545] Method, Class, Module, Package - how to they relate in Python? - (2015-10-17)
  [4713] Equality (in Python) - (2016-10-30)
  [4723] Conditional operators in Python - (2016-11-05)


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This is a page archived from The Horse's Mouth at http://www.wellho.net/horse/ - the diary and writings of Graham Ellis. Every attempt was made to provide current information at the time the page was written, but things do move forward in our business - new software releases, price changes, new techniques. Please check back via our main site for current courses, prices, versions, etc - any mention of a price in "The Horse's Mouth" cannot be taken as an offer to supply at that price.

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