# Control Flow

Control flow refers to the order in which the individual statements, instructions, or function calls of a program are executed. Without control flow, a program would simply run from top to bottom. Control flow structures allow for decision-making and repetition.

## 1. Conditionals

Conditionals allow the program to execute different code blocks based on whether a specific condition evaluates to `true` or `false`.

### If / Else Statements
The most fundamental control structure.

*   **JavaScript / C / Java:**
    ```javascript
    if (score > 50) {
        console.log("Pass");
    } else {
        console.log("Fail");
    }
    ```

*   **Python:**
    ```python
    if score > 50:
        print("Pass")
    else:
        print("Fail")
    ```

### Switch Statements
Used to select one of many code blocks to be executed. It is often cleaner than many `if...else if` statements.

*   **JavaScript / Java:**
    ```javascript
    switch (day) {
        case 1:
            console.log("Monday");
            break;
        case 2:
            console.log("Tuesday");
            break;
        default:
            console.log("Unknown");
    }
    ```

## 2. Loops (Iteration)

Loops allow you to repeat a block of code multiple times.

### For Loops
Used when you know exactly how many times you want to loop.

*   **C-Style (Java, C++, JS):**
    ```javascript
    for (let i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
        console.log(i);
    }
    ```

*   **Python:**
    ```python
    for i in range(5):
        print(i)
    ```

### While Loops
Used when you want to loop as long as a condition is true.

*   **General Syntax:**
    ```javascript
    while (isActive) {
        // do something
    }
    ```

## 3. Control Transfer Statements

*   **Break:** Terminates the current loop or switch statement immediately.
*   **Continue:** Skips the rest of the current loop iteration and jumps to the next one.
*   **Return:** Exits the current function and optionally returns a value.

[[programming/common-syntax]]