Purpose of the "if" Statement in C programming

Purpose of the "if" Statement in C

The if statement in C is used for decision-making in a program. It allows the program to execute a certain block of code based on whether a specified condition is true or false. This enables the program to make decisions and execute different sections of code depending on the outcome of the condition.

Syntax of the if Statement

if (condition) {
    // Code to be executed if the condition is true
}

Explanation:

• if: The keyword used to start the conditional statement.
• (condition): An expression that evaluates to true or false. It is placed within parentheses.
• Code Block: A block of code enclosed in curly braces that will be executed if the condition is true.

Example

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int number = 10;

    // Check if the number is positive
    if (number > 0) {
        printf("The number is positive.\\n");
    }

    return 0;
}

In this example:

• The if statement checks whether the variable number is greater than 0.
• If the condition number > 0 is true, the program prints "The number is positive."
• If the condition is false, the code inside the if block is skipped.

Additional Notes

The if statement can be extended with else and else if clauses to handle multiple conditions:

if (condition1) {
    // Code to execute if condition1 is true
} else if (condition2) {
    // Code to execute if condition1 is false and condition2 is true
} else {
    // Code to execute if all previous conditions are false
}

Note:
The if statement is fundamental in controlling the flow of a program, allowing for dynamic decision-making based on conditions.