Decision Making Statements in C

March 18, 2025

Decision Making Statements

In this page, you will find detailed explanation about the various decision making statements and control flow statements in C.

decision making statements in c example

What is Decision Making Statements in C?

In C programming, decision making statements are used to execute different blocks of code based on the results of a condition or expression. The main decision making statements in C are

  • the if statement
  • the switch statement.

If Statement

The if statement allows you to execute a block of code if a certain condition is true. The general syntax for an if statement in C is:

if (condition) {
// code to execute if condition is true
}

You can also include an else clause in an if statement to execute a different block of code if the condition is false:

if (condition) {
   // code to execute if condition is true
} else {
   // code to execute if condition is false
}

You can also include additional else if clauses to test multiple conditions:

if (condition1) {
   // code to execute if condition1 is true
} else if (condition2) {
   // code to execute if condition1 is false and condition2 is true
} else {
   // code to execute if condition1 and condition2 are false
}

If else statement

Conditional Statement Program

While Loop in C

Do While Loop in C

For Loop in C

Switch Statement

The switch statement is another decision making statement in C that allows you to execute different blocks of code based on the value of an expression. The syntax for a switch statement is:

switch (expression) {
   case value1:
      // code to execute if expression is equal to value1
      break;
   case value2:
      // code to execute if expression is equal to value2
      break;
   ...
   default:
      // code to execute if expression does not match any of the cases
      break;
}

Sample programs demonstrating Decision Making Statements in C

Program to Check if x is greater than 5

Run
#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
   int x = 10;

   // Check if x is greater than 5
   if (x > 5) {
      printf("x is greater than 5\n");
   }

   return 0;
}

Output

x is greater than 5

Program to Check if x is greater than 5

Run

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
   int x = 2;

   // Switch on the value of x
   switch (x) {
      case 1:
         printf("x is 1\n");
         break;
      case 2:
         printf("x is 2\n");
         break;
      case 3:
         printf("x is 3\n");
         break;
      default:
         printf("x is not 1, 2, or 3\n");
         break;
   }

   return 0;
}

Output

x is 2