Lesson 5
Decision Structures and Boolean Logic
Topics
• Nested Decision Structures and the if-elif-else
Statement
• Logical Operators
• Boolean Variables
Nested Decision Structures and the
if-elif-else Statement (1 of 3)
• A decision structure can be nested inside another
decision structure
– Commonly needed in programs
– Example:
§ Determine if someone qualifies for a loan, they must
meet two conditions:
– Must earn at least $30,000/year
– Must have been employed for at least two years
§ Check first condition, and if it is true, check second
condition
Nested Decision Structures and the
if-elif-else Statement (2 of 3)
A nested decision structure
Nested Decision Structures and the
if-elif-else Statement (3 of 3)
• Important to use proper indentation in a nested
decision structure
– Important for Python interpreter
– Makes code more readable for programmer
– Rules for writing nested if statements:
§ else clause should align with matching if clause
§ Statements in each block must be consistently indented
The if-elif-else Statement (1 of 3)
• if-elif-else statement: special version of a
decision structure
– Makes logic of nested decision structures simpler to
write
§ Can include multiple elif statements
– Syntax: if condition_1:
statement(s)
elif condition_2:
statement(s) Insert as many elif clauses
elif condition_3: as necessary.
statement(s)
else
statement(s)
The if-elif-else Statement (2 of 3)
• Alignment used with if-elif-else statement:
– if, elif, and else clauses are all aligned
– Conditionally executed blocks are consistently indented
• if-elif-else statement is never required, but logic
easier to follow
– Can be accomplished by nested if-else
§ Code can become complex, and indentation can cause
problematic long lines
The if-elif-else Statement (3 of 3)
Nested decision structure to determine a grade
Logical Operators
• Logical operators: operators that can be used to
create complex Boolean expressions
– and operator and or operator: binary operators,
connect two Boolean expressions into a compound
Boolean expression
– not operator: unary operator, reverses the truth of its
Boolean operand
The and Operator
• Takes two Boolean expressions as operands
– Creates compound Boolean expression that is true
only when both sub expressions are true
– Can be used to simplify nested decision structures
• Truth table for the and operator
Expression Value of the
Expression
false and false false
false and true false
true and false false
true and true true
The or Operator
• Takes two Boolean expressions as operands
– Creates compound Boolean expression that is true
when either of the sub expressions is true
– Can be used to simplify nested decision structures
• Truth table for the or operator
Expression Value of the
Expression
false and false false
false and true true
true and false true
true and true true
Short-Circuit Evaluation
• Short circuit evaluation: deciding the value of a
compound Boolean expression after evaluating only
one sub expression
– Performed by the or and and operators
§ For or operator: If left operand is true, compound
expression is true. Otherwise, evaluate right operand
§ For and operator: If left operand is false, compound
expression is false. Otherwise, evaluate right operand
The not Operator
• Takes one Boolean expressions as operand and
reverses its logical value
– Sometimes it may be necessary to place parentheses
around an expression to clarify to what you are
applying the not operator
• Truth table for the not operator
Expression Value of the Expression
true false
false true
Checking Numeric Ranges with Logical
Operators
• To determine whether a numeric value is within a
specific range of values, use and
– Example: x >= 10 and x <= 20
• To determine whether a numeric value is outside of a
specific range of values, use or
– Example: x < 10 or x > 20
Boolean Variables
• Boolean variable: references one of two values, True
or False
– Represented by bool data type
• Commonly used as flags
– Flag: variable that signals when some condition exists
in a program
§ Flag set to False à condition does not exist
§ Flag set to True à condition exists
Turtle Graphics: Determining the State
of the Turtle (1 of 9)
• The turtle.xcor() and turtle.ycor()
functions return the turtle's X and Y coordinates
• Examples of calling these functions in an if
statement:
if turtle.ycor() < 0:
turtle.goto(0, 0)
if turtle.xcor() > 100 and turtle.xcor() < 200:
turtle.goto(0, 0)
Turtle Graphics: Determining the State
of the Turtle (2 of 9)
• The turtle.heading() function returns the turtle's
heading. (By default, the heading is returned in degrees.)
• Example of calling the function in an if statement:
if turtle.heading() >= 90 and turtle.heading() <=
270:
turtle.setheading(180)
Turtle Graphics: Determining the State
of the Turtle (3 of 9)
• The turtle.isdown() function returns True if the
pen is down, or False otherwise.
• Example of calling the function in an if statement:
if turtle.isdown():
turtle.penup()
if not(turtle.isdown()):
turtle.pendown()
Turtle Graphics: Determining the State
of the Turtle (4 of 9)
• The turtle.isvisible() function returns True if
the turtle is visible, or False otherwise.
• Example of calling the function in an if statement:
if turtle.isvisible():
turtle.hideturtle()
Turtle Graphics: Determining the State
of the Turtle (5 of 9)
• When you call turtle.pencolor() without passing an
argument, the function returns the pen's current color as a
string. Example of calling the function in an if statement:
if turtle.pencolor() == 'red':
turtle.pencolor('blue')
• When you call turtle.fillcolor() without passing
an argument, the function returns the current fill color as a
string. Example of calling the function in an if statement:
if turtle.fillcolor() == 'blue':
turtle.fillcolor('white')
Turtle Graphics: Determining the State
of the Turtle (6 of 9)
• When you call turtle.bgcolor() without passing
an argument, the function returns the current
background color as a string. Example of calling the
function in an if statement:
if turtle.bgcolor() == 'white':
turtle.bgcolor('gray')
Turtle Graphics: Determining the State
of the Turtle (7 of 9)
• When you call turtle.pensize() without passing an
argument, the function returns the pen's current size as a
string. Example of calling the function in an if statement:
if turtle.pensize() < 3:
turtle.pensize(3)
Turtle Graphics: Determining the State
of the Turtle (8 of 9)
• When you call turtle.speed()without passing an
argument, the function returns the current animation
speed. Example of calling the function in an if statement:
if turtle.speed() > 0:
turtle.speed(0)
Turtle Graphics: Determining the State
of the Turtle (9 of 9)
• See In the Spotlight: The Hit the Target Game in your
textbook for numerous examples of determining the
state of the turtle.
Summary
• This lesson covered:
– Decision structures, including:
§ Dual alternative decision structures
§ Nested decision structures
– Relational operators and logical operators as used in
creating Boolean expressions
– String comparison as used in creating Boolean
expressions
– Boolean variables
– Determining the state of the turtle in Turtle Graphics
