Chapter 4: Problem 1

Describe the difference between the if / else if statement and a series of if statements.

Short Answer

Expert verified

#tag_title# Short Answer #tag_content# The main difference between if/else if statements and a series of if statements lies in their execution flow. An if/else if chain checks conditions sequentially and stops after the first true condition is met, while a series of if statements checks each condition independently, regardless of whether previous conditions were met or not. If/else if statements are useful when multiple mutually exclusive conditions need to be checked, while a series of if statements is useful when each condition is unrelated and can potentially execute simultaneously.

Step by step solution

Definition of If Statement

An if statement is a way to control the flow of your program based on a condition. If the condition evaluates to true, the code inside the if statement block will execute, while if it evaluates to false, the code inside the block will be skipped.

Definition of If / Else If Statement

An if/else if statement is essentially a chain of if statements where if the first condition is not met, the next condition will be checked, and so on. This continues until a condition is met or the whole chain of if/else if statements has been checked. The key difference here is that once the first true condition is encountered, the remaining conditions will not be checked.

Definition of Series of If Statements

A series of if statements is simply a collection of individual if statements placed one after another in sequence. In this case, each if statement's condition will be checked regardless of the other if statement's conditions. They do not depend on one another and are not part of a chain like the if/else if statement.

Example of using If / Else If Statement

``` int number = 10; if (number < 5) { // Code to execute if the number is less than 5 } else if (number < 15) { // Code to execute if the number is between 5 and 14 (because the first condition was not met) } else { // Code to execute if neither of the above conditions were met (if the number is 15 or greater) } ```

Example of using a Series of If Statements

``` int number = 10; if (number < 5) { // Code to execute if the number is less than 5 } if (number < 15) { // Code to execute if the number is less than 15 (regardless of whether or not the first condition is met) } ```

Main Difference between If / Else If and Series of If Statements

The primary difference between an if/else if statement and a series of if statements is in the execution flow. In an if/else if block, once a condition is met, the remaining conditions in the chain will not be checked. In contrast, in a series of if statements, each condition is checked independently of the others and executed regardless of other conditions being met. This could lead to different outcomes depending on the structure you use in your code.

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

Full Textbook Solutions
Get detailed explanations and key concepts
Unlimited Al creation
Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...
Ads-free access
To over 500 millions flashcards
Money-back guarantee
We refund you if you fail your exam.

Start your free trial

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with Vaia!

Recommended explanations on Computer Science Textbooks

View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Describe the difference between the if / else if statement and a series of if statements.

Short Answer

Step by step solution

Definition of If Statement

Definition of If / Else If Statement

Definition of Series of If Statements

Example of using If / Else If Statement

Example of using a Series of If Statements

Main Difference between If / Else If and Series of If Statements

One App. One Place for Learning.

Most popular questions from this chapter

Recommended explanations on Computer Science Textbooks

Computer Systems

Problem Solving Techniques

Computer Network

Data Structures

Databases

Computer Programming

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.