In the symphony of Vibe Coding, logic is the rhythm that guides our programs. Conditional statements and branching are our primary tools for creating this rhythm, allowing our code to respond dynamically to different situations. Just as a musician intuitively adjusts their tempo based on the mood of the piece, we can learn to write conditionals that feel natural and expressive.
At its core, a conditional statement asks a question and then dictates what happens based on the answer. The most fundamental of these is the if statement. It's like saying, 'IF this is true, THEN do that.' The 'if' condition is evaluated, and if it's true, the code block within the if statement is executed. If it's false, the code block is skipped.
let temperature = 25;
if (temperature > 20) {
console.log('It's a warm day!');
}But what if we want to provide an alternative action when the if condition is false? This is where the else statement comes in. It's the harmonious counter-melody, offering a path when the main theme isn't played. The else block executes only when the preceding if condition is false.
let temperature = 15;
if (temperature > 20) {
console.log('It's a warm day!');
} else {
console.log('It's a bit chilly.');
}graph TD;
A[Start]
B{Is temperature > 20?}
C[Log 'It's a warm day!']
D[Log 'It's a bit chilly.']
E[End]
A --> B
B -- Yes --> C
B -- No --> D
C --> E
D --> E
When we have multiple conditions to check in sequence, we can use else if. This allows us to create a chain of possibilities, like a series of chords resolving to a final destination. Each else if is checked only if the preceding if or else if conditions were false.
let score = 85;
if (score >= 90) {
console.log('Grade: A');
} else if (score >= 80) {
console.log('Grade: B');
} else if (score >= 70) {
console.log('Grade: C');
} else {
console.log('Grade: Below C');
}