Conditional Statements

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Definition of Conditional Statements:

Conditional statements let your program choose between different paths based on whether a condition is true or false. This includes basic if statements, multiple condition checks, and short expressions using shorthand.

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C++

Full if, else if, else:

if (condition) {
    // code if true
} else if (anotherCondition) {
    // code if this is true
} else {
    // code if none are true
}

Switch:

switch (value) {
    case option1:
        // code
        break;
    default:
        // code
        break;
}

Shorthand if-else (Ternary Operator):

condition ? valueIfTrue : valueIfFalse;

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Example with comments:

#include <iostream>
#include <string>

int main() {
    int number = 2;

    // Full if-else
    if (number == 1) {
        std::cout << "One" << std::endl;
    } else if (number == 2) {
        std::cout << "Two" << std::endl;
    } else {
        std::cout << "Other number" << std::endl;
    }

    // Switch case
    switch (number) {
        case 1:
            std::cout << "One" << std::endl;
            break;
        case 2:
            std::cout << "Two" << std::endl;
            break;
        default:
            std::cout << "Other number" << std::endl;
            break;
    }

    // Shorthand if-else
    std::string result = (number == 2) ? "Matched Two" : "Not Two";
    std::cout << result << std::endl;

    return 0;
}

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C#

Full if, else if, else:

if (condition) {
    // code if true
} else if (anotherCondition) {
    // code if this is true
} else {
    // code if none are true
}

Switch:

switch (value) {
    case option1:
        // code
        break;
    default:
        // code
        break;
}

Shorthand if-else (Ternary Operator):

condition ? valueIfTrue : valueIfFalse;

Example with comments:

int number = 2;

// Full if-else
if (number == 1) {
    Console.WriteLine("One");
} else if (number == 2) {
    Console.WriteLine("Two");
} else {
    Console.WriteLine("Other number");
}

// Switch case
switch (number) {
    case 1:
        Console.WriteLine("One");
        break;
    case 2:
        Console.WriteLine("Two");
        break;
    default:
        Console.WriteLine("Other number");
        break;
}

// Shorthand if-else
string result = (number == 2) ? "Matched Two" : "Not Two";
Console.WriteLine(result);

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Java

Full if-else-if:

if (condition) {
    // code
} else if (anotherCondition) {
    // code
} else {
    // code
}

Switch:

switch (value) {
    case option1:
        // code
        break;
    default:
        // code
}

Shorthand if-else (Ternary Operator):

condition ? valueIfTrue : valueIfFalse;

Example

int number = 2;

// Full if-else-if
if (number == 1) {
    System.out.println("One");
} else if (number == 2) {
    System.out.println("Two");
} else {
    System.out.println("Other number");
}

// Switch
switch (number) {
    case 1:
        System.out.println("One");
        break;
    case 2:
        System.out.println("Two");
        break;
    default:
        System.out.println("Other number");
        break;
}

// Shorthand if-else
String result = (number == 2) ? "Matched Two" : "Not Two";
System.out.println(result);

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Python

if, elif, else:

if condition:
    # code
elif another_condition:
    # code
else:
    # code

Python doesn't have switch, but supports match-case (Python 3.10+)

Shorthand if-else (Ternary Expression):

valueIfTrue if condition else valueIfFalse

Example

number = 2

# Full if-elif-else
if number == 1:
    print("One")
elif number == 2:
    print("Two")
else:
    print("Other number")

# match-case (Python 3.10+)
match number:
    case 1:
        print("One")
    case 2:
        print("Two")
    case _:
        print("Other number")

# Shorthand if-else
result = "Matched Two" if number == 2 else "Not Two"
print(result)

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JavaScript

if, else if, else:

if (condition) {
    // code
} else if (anotherCondition) {
    // code
} else {
    // code
}

Switch:

switch (value) {
    case value1:
        // code
        break;
    default:
        // code
}

Shorthand if-else (Ternary Operator):

condition ? valueIfTrue : valueIfFalse;

Example

let number = 2;

// Full if-else-if
if (number === 1) {
    console.log("One");
} else if (number === 2) {
    console.log("Two");
} else {
    console.log("Other number");
}

// Switch
switch (number) {
    case 1:
        console.log("One");
        break;
    case 2:
        console.log("Two");
        break;
    default:
        console.log("Other number");
        break;
}

// Shorthand if-else
let result = (number === 2) ? "Matched Two" : "Not Two";
console.log(result);

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TypeScript

Syntax

// if-else
if (condition) {
  // code if true
} else if (anotherCondition) {
  // code if second condition is true
} else {
  // code if none match
}

// switch-case
switch (expression) {
  case value1:
    // code block
    break;
  case value2:
    // code block
    break;
  default:
    // code block
    break;
}

// ternary operator
let result = (condition) ? valueIfTrue : valueIfFalse;

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Example

let number: number = 2;

// Full if-else
if (number == 1) {
    console.log("One");
} else if (number == 2) {
    console.log("Two");
} else {
    console.log("Other number");
}

// Switch case
switch (number) {
    case 1:
        console.log("One");
        break;
    case 2:
        console.log("Two");
        break;
    default:
        console.log("Other number");
        break;
}

// Shorthand if-else (ternary operator)
let result: string = (number == 2) ? "Matched Two" : "Not Two";
console.log(result);

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Summary Table (with Shorthand)

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Language	if-else	switch	Shorthand if-else (Ternary)
C++	Yes	Yes	(cond) ? trueVal : falseVal
C#	Yes	Yes	(cond) ? trueVal : falseVal
Java	Yes	Yes	(cond) ? trueVal : falseVal
Python	Yes	Yes (via match)	trueVal if cond else falseVal
JavaScript	Yes	Yes	(cond) ? trueVal : falseVal
TypeScript	Yes	Yes	(cond) ? trueVal : falseVal

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