In C, the if statement is used to test a condition and execute a block of code if the condition is true. It is a fundamental control structure in programming and is used extensively to perform conditional branching and execute different code paths based on different conditions.
The syntax for the if statement is as follows:
if (condition) {
// code to be executed if condition is true
}
For example:
int x = 10;
if (x > 5) {
printf("x is greater than 5\n");
}
In this example, the condition “x > 5” is true, so the code inside the if block is executed, and the message “x is greater than 5” is printed to the console.
If … Else Statement
The if statement can also be extended with else and else if clauses to provide additional branching logic:
if (condition1) {
// code to be executed if condition1 is true
} else if (condition2) {
// code to be executed if condition2 is true
} else {
// code to be executed if neither condition1 nor condition2 is true
}
For example:
int x = 10;
if (x > 15) {
printf("x is greater than 15\n");
} else if (x > 5) {
printf("x is greater than 5 but less than or equal to 15\n");
} else {
printf("x is less than or equal to 5\n");
}
In this example, the condition “x > 15” is false, but the condition “x > 5” is true, so the second code block is executed, and the message “x is greater than 5 but less than or equal to 15” is printed to the console.
The if statement is a fundamental control structure in C, and is used extensively in programming to perform conditional branching and execute different code paths based on different conditions.
