Conditionals

Conditionals are how scripts choose different paths, depending on the circumstances.

Branching

When a program makes a decision, it is said to branch. A program may be regarded as a tree with one root and many branches. Executing the program causes the branches to be followed in a particular order.

Python If/Else

Most languages branch with some variant of

if (something that evaluates to True or False) do something else if (comparison) do some other things else do some default things

Only the if is required; the other statements are optional. The specific syntax in Python is

if some_condition:
    code block
elif another_condition:
    code block
else:
    code block

Observe the colons and the indentation. To terminate the conditional, return to the same indentation level as the initial if.

If the “code block” consists of a single statement, it is permissible to write it on the same line as the if or elif

if x==0: z=0

Conditionals may be nested

if some_condition:
    if another_condition:
        do_something
    else:
        do_something_else
elif condition2:
    if something:
        do_work

Some languages have a “case” or “switch” statement for a long sequence of options. Python has no such construct so we use a series of elifs.

if cond1:
    block1
elif cond2:
    block2
elif cond3:
    block3
elif cond4:
    block4
else:
    final choice

The “condition” must be an expression that evaluates to True or False; that is, it must be a Boolean variable or expression. Boolean expressions are formed from other types of variables with conditional operators.

Exercise

The Body Mass Index is a widely-used number to classify body shapes. The formula in Imperial units (pounds, inches) is

BMI=weight*703.1/height**2

In metric units (kg, m) the formula is

BMI=weight/height**2

The categories are as follows:

Using whichever unit system you prefer, write some code to assign the weight and height, compute the number, and determine its classification. Assign your own weight and height. Try a few others. Use an online calculator to check your results.

weight=155.0
height=74.0

#metric
#BMI=weight/height**2

#imperial
BMI=weight*703.1/height**2

if         BMI < 18.5 : category="Underweight"
if 18.5 <= BMI < 25.0 : category="Normal"
if 25.0 <= BMI < 30.0 : category="Overweight"
if 30.0 <= BMI < 35.0 : category="Obese Class I"
if 35.0 <= BMI < 40.0 : category="Obese Class II"
if 40.0 <= BMI < 45.0 : category="Obese Class III"
if         BMI>= 45.0 : category="Obese Class IV"

print("BMI:",BMI," which is ",category)