rust/src/doc/trpl/if.md
Steve Klabnik 64f4021c40 copy-editing: if
I decided to break if-let out, as it's too complex for this part, but moving
if that late seems silly too.
2015-04-10 12:26:58 -04:00

74 lines
1.6 KiB
Markdown
Raw Blame History

This file contains ambiguous Unicode characters

This file contains Unicode characters that might be confused with other characters. If you think that this is intentional, you can safely ignore this warning. Use the Escape button to reveal them.

% if
Rusts take on `if` is not particularly complex, but its much more like the
`if` youll find in a dynamically typed language than in a more traditional
systems language. So lets talk about it, to make sure you grasp the nuances.
`if` is a specific form of a more general concept, the branch. The name comes
from a branch in a tree: a decision point, where depending on a choice,
multiple paths can be taken.
In the case of `if`, there is one choice that leads down two paths:
```rust
let x = 5;
if x == 5 {
println!("x is five!");
}
```
If we changed the value of `x` to something else, this line would not print.
More specifically, if the expression after the `if` evaluates to `true`, then
the block is executed. If its `false`, then it is not.
If you want something to happen in the `false` case, use an `else`:
```rust
let x = 5;
if x == 5 {
println!("x is five!");
} else {
println!("x is not five :(");
}
```
If there is more than one case, use an `else if`:
```rust
let x = 5;
if x == 5 {
println!("x is five!");
} else if x == 6 {
println!("x is six!");
} else {
println!("x is not five or six :(");
}
```
This is all pretty standard. However, you can also do this:
```rust
let x = 5;
let y = if x == 5 {
10
} else {
15
}; // y: i32
```
Which we can (and probably should) write like this:
```rust
let x = 5;
let y = if x == 5 { 10 } else { 15 }; // y: i32
```
This works because `if` is an expression. The value of the expression is the
value of the last expression in whichever branch was chosen. An `if` without an
`else` always results in `()` as the value.