Starting out with Python
Fifth Edition, Global Edition
Chapter 3
Decision Structures and
Boolean Logic
3-1
Topics
The if Statement
The if-else Statement
Comparing Strings
Nested Decision Structures and the if-
elif-else Statement
Logical Operators
Boolean Variables
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The if Statement (1 of 5)
Control structure: logical design that
controls order in which set of statements
execute
Sequence structure: set of statements that
execute in the order they appear
Decision structure: specific action(s)
performed only if a condition exists
Also known as selection structure
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The if Statement (2 of 5)
In flowchart, diamond represents
true/false condition that must be tested
Actions can be conditionally executed
Performed only when a condition is true
Single alternative decision structure:
provides only one alternative path of
execution
If condition is not true, exit the structure
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The if Statement (3 of 5)
Figure 3-1 A simple decision structure
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The if Statement (4 of 5)
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The if Statement (5 of 5)
Python syntax:
if condition:
Statement
Statement
First line known as the if clause
Includes the keyword if followed by
condition
The condition can be true or false
When the if statement executes, the condition
is tested, and if it is true the block statements
are executed. otherwise, block statements are
skipped
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Boolean Expressions and
Relational Operators (1 of 5)
Boolean expression: expression tested
by if statement to determine if it is true
or false
Example: a>b
true if a is greater than b; false
otherwise
Relational operator: determines
whether a specific relationship exists
between two values
Example: greater than (>)
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Boolean Expressions and
Relational Operators (2 of 5)
>= and <= operators test more than one
relationship
It is enough for one of the relationships to
exist for the expression to be true
== operator determines whether the two
operands are equal to one another
Do not confuse with assignment operator
(=)
!= operator determines whether the two
operands are not equal
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Boolean Expressions and
Relational Operators (3 of 5)
Table 3-2 Boolean expressions using relational operators
Expression Meaning
x > y Is x greater than y?
x < y Is x less than y?
x >= y Is x greater than or equal to y?
x <= y Is x less than or equal to y?
x == y Is x equal to y?
x != y Is x not equal to y?
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Boolean Expressions and
Relational Operators (4 of 5)
Using a Boolean expression with the > relational
operator
Figure 3-3 Example decision structure
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Boolean Expressions and
Relational Operators (5 of 5)
Any relational operator can be used in a
decision block
Example: if balance == 0
Example: if payment != balance
It is possible to have a block inside
another block
Example: if statement inside a function
Statements in inner block must be
indented with respect to the outer block
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Example
Create the program of the following
pseudocode:
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Solution
HIGH_SCORE = 95
test1 = int(input('Enter the score for test 1: ' ))
test2 = int(input('Enter the score for test 2: ' ))
test3 = int(input('Enter the score for test 3: ' ))
# Calculate the average test score.
average = (test1 + test2 + test3) / 3
# Print the average.
print(f'The average score is {average}.')
# If the average is a high score,
# congratulate the user.
if average >= HIGH_SCORE:
print('Congratulations!')
print('That is a great average!')
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The if-else Statement (1 of 3)
Dual alternative decision structure: two
possible paths of execution
– One is taken if the condition is true, and
the other if the condition is false
Syntax: if condition:
statements
else:
other statements
if clause and else clause must be
aligned
Statements must be consistently indented
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The if-else Statement (2 of 3)
Figure 3-5 A dual alternative decision structure
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The if-else Statement (3 of 3)
Figure 3-6 Conditional execution in an if-else statement
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Example
If any employee works over 40 hours in a
week, he pays them 1.5 times their regular
hourly pay rate for all hours over 40.
Write a program with the following
pseudocode:
Get the number of hours worked.
Get the hourly pay rate.
If the employee worked more than 40 hours:
Calculate and display the gross pay with
overtime.
Else:
Calculate and display the gross pay as usual.
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BASE_HOURS = 40 # Base hours per week
OT_MULTIPLIER = 1.5 # Overtime multiplier
hours = float(input('Enter the number of hours worked: '))
pay_rate = float(input('Enter the hourly pay rate: '))
if hours > BASE_HOURS:
overtime_hours = hours − BASE_HOURS
# Calculate the amount of overtime pay.
overtime_pay = overtime_hours * pay_rate * OT_MULTIPLIER
# Calculate the gross pay.
gross_pay = BASE_HOURS * pay_rate + overtime_pay
else:
# Calculate the gross pay without overtime.
gross_pay = hours * pay_rate
# Display the gross pay.
print(f'The gross pay is ${gross_pay:,.2f}.')
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Comparing Strings (1 of 3)
Strings can be compared using the ==
and != operators
Example:
name1 = 'Mary‘
name2 = 'Mark‘
if name1 == name2:
print('The names are the same.')
else:
print('The names are NOT the
same.')
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Comparing Strings (2 of 2)
Figure 3-9 Comparing each character in a string
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Comparing Strings (3 of 3)
String comparisons are case sensitive
Strings can be compared using >, <,
>=, and <=
Compared character by character
based on the ASCII values for each
character
Ifshorter word is substring of longer
word, longer word is greater than
shorter word
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ASCII (American Standard Code for Information
Interchange)
character set
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Example
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Comparing Strings
If one of the strings in a comparison is
shorter than the other, only the
corresponding characters will be
compared.
If the corresponding characters are
identical, then the shorter string is
considered less than the longer string.
For example, suppose the strings 'High‘ and
'Hi' were being compared. The string 'Hi'
would be considered less than 'High‘
because it is shorter.
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Example
Take two names from the user and list
them alphabetically.
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# This program compares strings with the < operator.
#name1 = input('Enter a name (last name first): ')
#name2 = input('Enter another name (last name first): ')
# Display the names in alphabetical order.
print('Here are the names, listed alphabetically.')
if name1 < name2:
print(name1)
print(name2)
else:
print(name2)
print(name1)
Get two names from the user.
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Nested Decision Structures and the
if-elif-else Statement (1 of 3)
A decision structure can be nested inside
another decision structure
Commonly needed in programs
Example:
Determine if someone qualifies for a loan, they
must meet two conditions:
Must earn at least $30,000/year
Must have been employed for at least two
years
Check first condition, and if it is true, check
second condition
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Nested Decision Structures and the
if-elif-else Statement (2 of 3)
Figure 3-12 A nested decision structure
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Nested Decision Structures and
the if-elif-else Statement (3 of 3)
Important to use proper indentation in a
nested decision structure
Important for Python interpreter
Makes code more readable for
programmer
Rules for writing nested if statements:
else clause should align with matching
if clause
Statements in each block must be
consistently indented
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The if-elif-else
Statement (1 of 3)
if-elif-else statement: special
version of a decision structure
Makes logic of nested decision structures
simpler to write
Can include multiple elif statements
if condition_1:
Syntax:
statement(s)
elif condition_2:
statement(s) Insert as many elif clauses
elif condition_3: as necessary.
statement(s)
else
statement(s)
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The if-elif-else
Statement (2 of 3)
Alignment used with if-elif-else
statement:
if, elif, and else clauses are all aligned
Conditionally executed blocks are
consistently indented
if-elif-else statement is never
required, but logic easier to follow
Can be accomplished by nested if-else
Code can become complex, and indentation
can cause problematic long lines
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The if-elif-else Statement (3 of 3)
Figure 3-15 Nested decision structure to determine a grade
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# This program gets a numeric test score from the
# user and displays the corresponding letter grade
# Named constants to represent the grade thresholds
A_SCORE = 90
B_SCORE = 80
C_SCORE = 70
D_SCORE = 60
# Get a test score from the user.
score = int(input('Enter your test score: '))
# Determine the grade.
if score >= A_SCORE:
print('Your grade is A.')
else:
if score >= B_SCORE:
print('Your grade is B.')
else:
if score >= C_SCORE:
print('Your grade is C.')
else:
if score >= D_SCORE:
print('Your grade is D.')
else:
print('Your grade is F.')
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Logical Operators
Logical operators: operators that can
be used to create complex Boolean
expressions
and operator and or operator: binary
operators, connect two Boolean
expressions into a compound Boolean
expression
not operator: unary operator, reverses
the truth of its Boolean operand
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The and Operator
Takes two Boolean expressions as operands
Creates compound Boolean expression that is true
only when both sub expressions are true
Can be used to simplify nested decision structures
Truth table for the and operator
Expression Value of the
Expression
false and false false
false and true false
true and false false
true and true true
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The or Operator
Takes two Boolean expressions as operands
Creates compound Boolean expression that is true
when either of the sub expressions is true
Can be used to simplify nested decision structures
Truth table for the or operator
Expression Value of the
Expression
false or false false
false or true true
true or false true
true or true true
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Short-Circuit Evaluation
Short circuit evaluation: deciding the
value of a compound Boolean expression
after evaluating only one sub expression
Performed by the or and and operators
For
or operator: If left operand is true,
compound expression is true. Otherwise,
evaluate right operand
For
and operator: If left operand is false,
compound expression is false. Otherwise,
evaluate right operand
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The not Operator
Takes one Boolean expressions as operand and
reverses its logical value
Sometimes it may be necessary to place
parentheses around an expression to clarify to
what you are applying the not operator
Truth table for the not operator
Expression Value of the Expression
true false
false true
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Checking Numeric Ranges
with Logical Operators
To determine whether a numeric value
is within a specific range of values,
use and
Example: x >= 10 and x <= 20
To determine whether a numeric value
is outside of a specific range of values,
use or
Example: x < 10 or x > 20
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Boolean Variables
Boolean variable: references one of two
values, True or False
Represented by bool data type
Commonly used as flags
Flag:
variable that signals when some
condition exists in a program
Flag set to False condition does not exist
Flag set to True condition exists
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Flag example
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Summary
This chapter covered:
Decision structures, including:
Single alternative decision structures
Dual alternative decision structures
Nested decision structures
Relational operators and logical operators as
used in creating Boolean expressions
String
comparison as used in creating Boolean
expressions
Boolean variables
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