Python Conditions and If statements
Python supports the usual logical conditions from mathematics:
- Equals: a == b
- Not Equals: a != b
- Less than: a < b
- Less than or equal to: a <= b
- Greater than: a > b
- Greater than or equal to: a >= b
These conditions can be used in several ways, most commonly in “if statements” and loops.
An “if statement” is written by using the if keyword.
Example
If statement:a = 33
b = 200
if b > a:
print(“b is greater than a”)
Output:
b is greater than a
In this example we use two variables, a and b, which are used as part of the if statement to test whether b is greater than a. As a is 33, and b is 200, we know that 200 is greater than 33, and so we print to screen that “b is greater than a”.
Indentation
Python relies on indentation (whitespace at the beginning of a line) to define scope in the code. Other programming languages often use curly-brackets for this purpose.
Example
If statement, without indentation (will raise an error):
a = 33
b = 200
if b > a:
print(“b is greater than a”) # you will get an error
Output:
File “demo_if_error.py”, line 4
print(“b is greater than a”)
^
IndentationError: expected an indented block
Elif
The elif keyword is pythons way of saying “if the previous conditions were not true, then try this condition”.
Example
a = 33
b = 33
if b > a:
print(“b is greater than a”)
elif a == b:
print(“a and b are equal”)
Output:
a and b are equal
In this example a is equal to b, so the first condition is not true, but the elif condition is true, so we print to screen that “a and b are equal”.
Else
The else keyword catches anything which isn’t caught by the preceding conditions.
Example
a = 200
b = 33
if b > a:
print(“b is greater than a”)
elif a == b:
print(“a and b are equal”)
else:
print(“a is greater than b”)
Output:
a is greater than b
In this example a is greater than b, so the first condition is not true, also the elif condition is not true, so we go to the else condition and print to screen that “a is greater than b”.
You can also have an else without the elif:
Example
a = 200
b = 33
if b > a:
print(“b is greater than a”)
else:
print(“b is not greater than a”)
Output:
b is not greater than a
Short Hand If
If you have only one statement to execute, you can put it on the same line as the if statement.
Example
One line if statement:
if a > b: print(“a is greater than b”)
Output:
“a is greater than b”
Short Hand If … Else
If you have only one statement to execute, one for if, and one for else, you can put it all on the same line:
Example
One line if else statement:
a = 2
b = 330
print(“A”) if a > b else print(“B”)
Output:
B
This technique is known as Ternary Operators, or Conditional Expressions.
You can also have multiple else statements on the same line:
Example
One line if else statement, with 3 conditions:
a = 330
b = 330
print(“A”) if a > b else print(“=”) if a == b else print(“B”)
Output:
=
And
The and keyword is a logical operator, and is used to combine conditional statements:
Example
Test if a is greater than b, AND if c is greater than a:a = 200
b = 33
c = 500
if a > b and c > a:
print(“Both conditions are True”)
Output:
Both conditions are True
Or
The or keyword is a logical operator, and is used to combine conditional statements:
Example
Test if a is greater than b, OR if a is greater than c:
a = 200
b = 33
c = 500
if a > b or a > c:
print(“At least one of the conditions is True”)
Output:
At least one of the conditions is True
Nested If
You can have if statements inside if statements, this is called nested if statements.
Example
x = 41
if x > 10:
print(“Above ten,”)
if x > 20:
print(“and also above 20!”)
else:
print(“but not above 20.”)
Output:
Above ten,
and also above 20!
The pass Statement
if statements cannot be empty, but if you for some reason have an if statement with no content, put in the pass statement to avoid getting an error.
Example
a = 33
b = 200
if b > a:
pass
Note: having an empty if statement like this, would raise an error without the pass statement