Branching with the IF Keyword

The if-else set of keywords allow you to specify that different sequences of instructions should be performed depending on some condition. The syntax is:

•	IF is followed, on the same line, by a branching condition (a boolean expression).

•	A block of instructions then follows, which are performed if the condition above is true. That block finishes when it reaches either ELSE or ENDIF.

•	If an ELSE instruction is present, then the block of instructions between ELSE and ENDIF will be performed if the branching condition is false. Note that having an ELSE block is optional.

Below is an example of the syntax :

bIsLeapYear = IsLeapYear()

if bIsLeapYear

nDayInFeb = 29

bRESULT = true

sResult = 'Feb has 29 days'

else

sResult = 'Feb has only 28 days'

nDayInFeb = 28

bRESULT = false

endif

The blocks performed depending on the branching condition are normal code blocks, which can contain other nested blocks. For example, we could modify the above :

bIsLeapYear = IsLeapYear()

if bIsLeapYear

nDayInFeb = 29

bRESULT = true

if YearOf(Today()) == 2000

sResult = 'Yes, Feb has 29 days in 2000 !!!'

else

sResult = 'Feb has 29 days'

endif

else

sResult = 'Feb has only 28 days'

nDayInFeb = 28

bRESULT = false

endif

In the above, if we are in a leap year, then we have added an extra branching condition that checks to see if we are in the year 2000. If that is the case we make the message more emphatic, since many people mistakenly think that the year 2000 is not a leap year

If you only need to perform some instructions if acondition is not true you should use the following :

if not IsLeapYear()

// do something

endif

This solution is compact and legible.

Topic 105131 updated on 03-Jan-02
Topic URL: http://www.qppsupport.net/webhelp/index.html?branchingwiththeifkeyword.htm