If–else statement in Go - Step-by-Step Execution

Concept Flow - If–else statement

Evaluate condition

↓

Condition true?

No→Execute else block

Yes↓

Execute if block

↓

End

The program checks a condition. If true, it runs the 'if' block; otherwise, it runs the 'else' block.

Execution Sample

Go

package main
import "fmt"
func main() {
  x := 10
  if x > 5 {
    fmt.Println("x is greater than 5")
  } else {
    fmt.Println("x is 5 or less")
  }
}

This code checks if x is greater than 5 and prints a message accordingly.

Execution Table

Step	Condition	Result	Branch Taken	Output
1	x > 5 (10 > 5)	true	if block	"x is greater than 5" printed
2	End of if-else	N/A	Program ends	No further output

💡 Condition true at step 1, so if block executed; program ends after printing.

Variable Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 1	Final
x	undefined	10	10

Key Moments - 2 Insights

Why does the program print "x is greater than 5" and not the else message?

Because at step 1 in the execution table, the condition x > 5 is true (10 > 5), so the if block runs, skipping the else block.

What happens if the condition is false?

If the condition were false, the else block would run instead, as shown in the 'Branch Taken' column for the else path.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution table, what is the condition result at step 1?

A undefined

B true

C false

D error

💡 Hint

Check the 'Result' column in the first row of the execution table.

At which step does the program decide which branch to take?

A Step 2

B Before Step 1

C Step 1

D After Step 2

💡 Hint

Look at the 'Condition' and 'Branch Taken' columns in the execution table.

If x was 3 instead of 10, what would the output be according to the execution flow?

A "x is 5 or less"

B "x is greater than 5"

C No output

D Program error

💡 Hint

Think about the condition x > 5 and which branch runs when false.

Concept Snapshot

if condition {
  // code runs if condition true
} else {
  // code runs if condition false
}
Checks condition once, runs one block only.

Full Transcript

This visual trace shows how an if-else statement works in Go. The program sets x to 10. It then checks if x is greater than 5. Since 10 is greater than 5, the condition is true, so the program runs the code inside the if block and prints "x is greater than 5". The else block is skipped. The variable x stays 10 throughout. If the condition were false, the else block would run instead. This helps the program choose between two paths based on a condition.