When to use if vs else if

[Death Slaught]

wich would be better to use the if or the else if statement?

if (whatever)
{
alert("something")
}
if (otherwhatever)
{
alert("othersomething")
}
else
{
alert("analert")
}

or would it be more appropriate to write it this way.

if (whatever)
{
alert("something")
}
else if ("otherwhatever")
{
alert("othersomething")
}
else
{
alert("analert")
}

Thanks, Death Slaught

[epots9]

wich would be better to use the if or the else if statement?

if (whatever)
{
alert("something")
}
if (otherwhatever)
{
alert("othersomething")
}
else
{
alert("analert")
}

or would it be more appropriate to write it this way.

if (whatever)
{
alert("something")
}
else if ("otherwhatever")
{
alert("othersomething")
}
else
{
alert("analert")
}

Thanks, Death Slaught

it depends on your code.

the if statement is only accessed when a condition is met, otherwise it is ignored.
the if elseif else block is the same but it is testing for many conditions and depending on which one is met a different action might have to be performed in order to get the results u want.

[Death Slaught]

it depends on your code.

the if statement is only accessed when a condition is met, otherwise it is ignored.
the if elseif else block is the same but it is testing for many conditions and depending on which one is met a different action might have to be performed in order to get the results u want.

could you give an example or explain this in more detail i get it sort of but i kinda dont i get that you should use the else if statement for say having a different greeting for certain users and a sort of default greeting for every one else kind of like if condition 1 returns false it goes to condition 2 and if condition 2 returns false it uses condition 3 but i dont get the mutiple if statement did you meen if (name1 == name) alert("analert") if (name1 == name2) alert("anotheralert") but you could use the else if statement here instead of another if statement lol im confused.....
Thanks, Death Slaught

[epots9]

lets try this example:

var num = 99;
if(num == 99) //it does, so we enter the if block
{
num /= 2;
}
if(num % 2 == 0)  //fails, does second test
{
alert("2");
}
else if(num % 3 == 0) //passes, enters
{
alert("3");
}
else if(num % 5 == 0) //never tested
{
alert("5");
}
else //never reached
{
alert("nothing :(");
}
 

if u just did if instead of else if/else, it would test them all, but with an else if, if one passes it doesn't waste time testing the others.

i know its a bad example, i'll try and post something alittle better later on.

[Death Slaught]

lets try this example:

var num = 99;
if(num == 99) //it does, so we enter the if block
{
num /= 2;
}
if(num % 2 == 0)  //fails, does second test
{
alert("2");
}
else if(num % 3 == 0) //passes, enters
{
alert("3");
}
else if(num % 5 == 0) //never tested
{
alert("5");
}
else //never reached
{
alert("nothing :(");
}
 

if u just did if instead of else if/else, it would test them all, but with an else if, if one passes it doesn't waste time testing the others.

i know its a bad example, i'll try and post something alittle better later on.

No need to post a better example i get it now the last sentence makes perfect sense so thanks alot.

[pbmods]

Changed thread title to better describe a problem (threads tend to get more responses when the title contains nouns *and* verbs, with emphasis on plural).

[epots9]

No need to post a better example i get it now the last sentence makes perfect sense so thanks alot.

I'm glad i could help, come back anytime u need any help.

[beatTheDevil]

The bottom line is this:

Use if statements if you want every condition tested. Theoretically, every if-wrapped code block could be executed if its conditional expression evaluated to "true."

Use if/else statements when you want only one of a number of possibilities to be executed under a particular set of circumstances.