Making Decisions: The if Statement

Often, you want a piece of your code to run only under specific circumstances. Just like in real life where you might decide "If it's raining, I'll take an umbrella," programs need a way to make decisions based on conditions. Python's fundamental tool for this is the if statement.

The if statement allows you to execute a block of code conditionally. It checks if a particular condition is true. If it is, the code block associated with the if statement runs. If the condition is false, that block of code is skipped entirely, and the program continues with the next instruction after the if block.

The Structure of an if Statement

The basic syntax looks like this:

if condition:
    # Code to execute if the condition is True
    statement1
    statement2
    # ... more statements ...

# Code here runs regardless of the condition, after the if block
next_statement

Let's break this down:

1. if Keyword: The statement starts with the keyword if.
2. condition: This is an expression that evaluates to either True or False. This is often called a boolean expression. You typically use comparison operators (like ==, !=, <, >, <=, >=) or logical operators (and, or, not) here, which you encountered in the previous chapter. You can also directly use a boolean variable.
3. Colon :: A colon must follow the condition. This signifies the start of the code block that depends on the condition.
4. Indented Block: The lines of code immediately following the if condition: line, and indented further to the right, form the if block. Python uses indentation (typically 4 spaces) to define code blocks. All lines indented at the same level under the if belong to that block. The first line that is not indented at this level marks the end of the if block.

How it Works: An Example

Imagine you're writing a program that checks if a user is old enough to vote. The voting age is usually 18.

age = 20

print("Checking voting eligibility...")

if age >= 18:
    print("You are old enough to vote.")
    print("Please register if you haven't already.")

print("Eligibility check complete.")

Let's trace the execution:

1. The variable age is assigned the value 20.
2. The program prints "Checking voting eligibility...".
3. The if statement checks the condition age >= 18. Since 20 >= 18 is True, the condition is met.
4. Because the condition is True, the indented block is executed:
   • "You are old enough to vote." is printed.
   • "Please register if you haven't already." is printed.
5. After the if block finishes, the program continues with the next unindented line, printing "Eligibility check complete.".

Now, what if the age was different?

age = 15

print("Checking voting eligibility...")

if age >= 18:
    # This block will be skipped
    print("You are old enough to vote.")
    print("Please register if you haven't already.")

print("Eligibility check complete.")

Execution trace:

1. age is assigned 15.
2. "Checking voting eligibility..." is printed.
3. The if statement checks age >= 18. Since 15 >= 18 is False, the condition is not met.
4. Because the condition is False, the entire indented block under the if is skipped.
5. The program jumps directly to the next line after the if block and prints "Eligibility check complete.".

The Importance of Indentation

Indentation is not just for readability in Python; it's part of the syntax. It tells the interpreter which statements belong to the if block. Incorrect indentation will lead to errors or unexpected behavior.

# Correct indentation
temperature = 30
if temperature > 25:
    print("It's a warm day.") # Indented correctly
    print("Wear light clothes.") # Indented correctly

# Incorrect indentation (will cause an IndentationError)
# if temperature > 25:
# print("It's a warm day.") # Missing indentation

Always use consistent indentation, typically 4 spaces per level. Most code editors will help you with this automatically.

Visualizing the Flow

We can visualize the decision-making process of an if statement using a flowchart:

Flowchart showing the execution path of an if statement. If the condition evaluates to True, the if block code is executed before continuing. If False, the if block is skipped.

The if statement is the simplest way to introduce conditional logic into your programs. It allows your code to react differently based on specific conditions, making your programs more dynamic and intelligent. As you'll see next, you can build upon this foundation using elif and else to handle alternative conditions.