Pro C# 2010 and the .NET 4 Platform, Fifth Edition

3.9. Decision Constructs and the Relational/Equality Operators

Now that you can iterate over a block of statements, the next related concept is how to control the flow of program execution. C# defines two simple constructs to alter the flow of your program, based on various contingencies:

• The if/else statement

• The switch statement

3.9.1. The if/else Statement

First up is our good friend the if/else statement. Unlike in C and C++, however, the if/else statement in C# operates only on Boolean expressions, not ad hoc values such as −1 or 0. Given this, if/else statements typically involve the use of the C# operators shown in Table 3-7 in order to obtain a literal Boolean value.

Table 3.7. C# Relational and Equality Operators

C# Equality/Relational ...