Gain insights into basic computer anatomy, binary systems, and program lifecycles. Delve into logic building and core programming concepts with hands-on exercises and quizzes to reinforce learning.

This language-agnostic course is your guide to programming and acquiring problem-solving skills. You will start reviewing the anatomy of computers and the binary number system. You will then look at the lifecycle of a program before moving on to the core concepts of programming. Overall, the primary focus of this course is logic building within the context of computer science and programming.

Throughout each chapter, you will get hands-on experience with exercises and quizzes to solidify what you’ve learned. If you’re looking to build strong programming fundamentals then this course is the perfect place to start.

Introduction to Computers & Programming

# The need for conditional statements
Often, we take action based on the circumstances around us. This is called **decision making**. For instance, *if* the weather is hot, we might drink a cold beverage like a milkshake, and *if* the weather is cold, we might choose to drink hot chocolate.
 

Similarly, we want our computer programs to *decide* what action to take depending on the result of a condition(s). This is where conditional statements like IF, IF-ELSE, and IF-ELSE-IF come into play.

# The IF statement

Suppose we want our program to output "drink a milkshake" only if the weather is sunny. The IF statement would come in handy. If a condition is true, only then the set of instructions in the IF block are executed. IF is a keyword, meaning that it is a reserved word with a special meaning. The following is a general format of the IF statement:

Learn what conditional statements are and why are they used.

Introduction

Getting to Know Computers

Problem Solving

Variables

Decision in Programs

Repetition in Programs

Conclusion

Introduction to Conditional Statements

The need for conditional statements

The IF