In this course, we'll focus on understanding the purpose of conditional statements, learn how they enable decision-making in programming, and explore an example to see them in action.

What Are Conditional Statements?

A conditional statement allows your program to make decisions by executing different blocks of code based on whether a specific condition is True or False. Think of it as answering a "yes or no" question in your code: "If this condition is true, do this."

For example, imagine building a Fitness Tracker. If a user's step count reaches their daily goal, you might display a congratulatory message. Otherwise, you might encourage them to take more steps.

Syntax of a Conditional Statement

Here's the basic syntax of an if statement:

if condition:
    # Code to execute when the condition is True

Explanation of the Syntax:

1. if: this keyword begins the conditional statement;
2. condition: this is a logical expression that evaluates to True or False;
3. Code Block: the indented code below the if statement runs only when the condition is True.

Example: Checking Step Count in a Fitness Tracker

Let's write a simple example using a Fitness Tracker. We'll check if the user has achieved their step goal for the day.

Explanation

1. Condition: the if statement checks if the number of steps taken (steps_taken) is greater than or equal to the step goal (step_goal);
2. Result: if the condition is True (e.g., 12000 >= 10000), the message "Congratulations! You've reached your daily step goal." is printed. But if the condition is False (e.g., 7500 >= 10000), nothing happens, and the program moves on.