Selection statement

A selection statement is a type of programming construct used within a computer program to direct the flow of execution based on certain conditions. It is also known as a conditional statement or decision making statement. Generally, these decisions are based on comparisons between variables or values or the results of an expression evaluation.

Selection statements typically involve comparison operations including greater than, greater than or equal to, equal to, less than or equal to, and less than. These operations allow comparisons to be made between different variables or values, and can also be used to compare the results of an expression evaluation to determine the outcome of the statement. Logical operators such as AND and OR can also be used to create more complex decisions.

The most common types of selection statements are the if, if/else, and switch statements. These all have the same general format, consisting of a boolean expression in parentheses followed by a set of instructions, which will be executed only when the expression evaluates to be true.

The if statement is the most basic of these constructs. It consists of a single boolean expression in parentheses followed by a set of instructions in braces (” { }”). If the expression evaluates to be true, the instructions will be executed, otherwise, they will be skipped. The most common form of the if statement is the “if-else” statement, which gives the programmer the ability to specify a different set of instructions to be executed when the expression is false.

Finally, the switch statement is similar to the if statement except that it evaluates an expression against multiple different possible values. Depending on the results of the evaluation, a corresponding set of instructions is executed.

Selection statements are a key element of most programming languages and are critical for creating more complex programs. They help to make decisions based on values stored in variables or the result of an expression evaluation, and by doing so allow the programmer to control the program flow and manipulate the data within it.