In the Python language, Elif creates conditional flow control structures in a program. This structure is very similar to the keyword if, but with an important difference: while if we test a condition is true or false, elif we use it to test a condition is false and then execute a specific block of code.
In other words, if you use it to test and execute a block of code when a condition is true, and use ‘elif’ to test and execute a block of code when a condition is false.
this article, We’ll explore how to use elif in Python, how to integrate it with other flow control frameworks like if and else, and how to apply it to practical projects. In addition, we’ll discuss the advantages and limitations of elif, as well as some advice to avoid common mistakes when using elif in Python.
Table of Contents
Syntax
The syntax of elif
in Python is very similar to the syntax of if
, with some important differences. Here’s an example of how to use o elif
in Python:
if condition1:
# block of code to execute if condition1 is true
elif condition2:
# block of code to execute if condition1 is false and condition2 is true
elif condition3:
# block of code to execute if condition1 and condition2 are false and condition3 is true
else:
# block of code to be executed if all previous conditions are false
Note that the elif
is used to test whether a condition is false and then execute a specific block of code. Each block of code that is associated with one elif
is executed only if the corresponding condition is true. If all the previous conditions are false, the do code block else
is executed.
Furthermore, it is possible that we are using multiple elif
analogues in a single flow control structure, as in the example above, where there are three elif
different ones. This allows us to test multiple conditions and run different blocks of code for each of them.
How is elif different from if in Python?
Although the syntax of do elif
and do if
in Python are similar, there are some important differences between them. Here are some of the main differences between elif
and if
in Python:
- The
if
is used to test whether a condition is true and execute a block of code if it is true. It is alreadyelif
used to test if a condition is false and execute a block of code if it is false. See this example below: - The
if
is used to test a single condition. We can alreadyelif
apply it to test multiple conditions in a single flow control structure. See this example below: - We can apply it
if
alone in a flow control structure. We can only apply itelif
in conjunction withif
,else
or in a nested flow control structure. - When the
if
is used to test multiple conditions, we need it nested within the if itself. We can use itelif
in conjunction withif
orelse
to create a simpler flow control structure.
In summary, although o elif
and o if
in Python have similar syntax, o elif
is used to test false conditions, while o if
is used to test true conditions. We can also apply elif
to test multiple conditions in a single flow control structure, which makes the code cleaner and more organized.
Examples of how to use elif in Python
Now let’s learn how to use elif with some practical examples.
Simple examples of how to use it elif
in Python:
- Example 1: Determine the day of the week
day_oftheweek = input("What day of the week is it?")
if day_of_week == "Sunday":
print("Happy Sunday!")
elif day_of_week == "monday":
print("Happy Monday!")
elif week_day == "Tuesday":
print("Happy Tuesday!")
elif week_day =="Wednesday":
print("Happy Wednesday!")
elif week_day == "Thursday":
print("Happy Thursday!")
elif week_day == "Friday":
print("Happy Friday!")
elif day_of_week == "saturday":
print("Happy Saturday!")
else:
print("Sorry, but this is not a valid day of the week.")
- Example 2: Determine the state of a coin
currency = input("What is the currency state? ")
if coin =="level":
print("The coin is at a good level.")
coin elif =="weak":
print("The currency is weak.")
coin elif =="medium":
print("The coin is at a medium level.")
coin elif =="strong":
print("The currency is strong.")
else:
print("Sorry, but this is not a valid currency state.")
In these examples, we are using it elif
to check several different conditions. In each case, we are checking whether a given condition is true and then executing a corresponding block of code. If none of the conditions are true, the code uses the clause else
to execute an additional block of code.
Advanced how-to examples elif
in Python:
Example usage of elif
with None
in Python:
In the example below, if the user enters “Yes”, the code will display the message “Yes, Python is an easy programming language!”. If the user enters “No”, the code displays the message “No, Python may be difficult for some people.”. But if the user enters None
, the code will use the clause elif
to check if the answer is None
. If so, the code will display the message “Sorry, but you did not enter a valid answer.”. See below:
answer = input("Do you think Python is an easy programming language? (Yes/No) ")
if answer =="Yes":
print("Yes, Python is an easy programming language!")
elif answer =="No":
print("No, Python can be difficult for some people.")
elif response is None:
print("Sorry, but you did not enter a valid answer.")
else:
print("Sorry, I didn't understand your answer.")
Example usage of elif
with Append in Python:
In this example, we’re looping through a list of fruits and checking whether each fruit is green, ripe, or ripe and red. If the fruit is green, we print “Fruit is green” and ignore the append. If the fruit is ripe, we print “Fruit is ripe” and add the fruit to the list frutas
using append
. And finally, if the fruit is ripe and red, we just print “Fruit is ripe” and add the fruit to the list frutas
using append
. That way, at the end we print the list frutas
, which contains the ripe fruits added by append
during the loop.
fruits = []
for fruit in ['apple', 'orange', 'banana', 'strawberry']:
if fruit == 'apple':
print('Fruit is green')
elif fruit == 'orange':
print('Fruit is ripe')
fruits.append(fruit)
elif fruit == 'banana':
print('Fruit is ripe')
fruits.append(fruit)
elif fruit == 'strawberry':
print('Fruit is ripe')
fruits.append(fruit)
print(fruits)
Example usage of elif
and a set( set
) in Python:
In this example, we generate a sequence from 1 to 11 and then loop through the numbers 1 to 10, checking whether each number is even or odd, or belongs to the sequence {1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9}. If we find the number 5, we print “The number is 5”. Thus, if the number is even and not in the sequence, we print “The number is even and does not belong to the sequence of numbers”. If the number is even, we add that number to the sum called ‘number’. Likewise, if the number is odd, we also add that number to the sum called ‘number’.
At the end, we print the sum numero
. Note that the sum value assumes the value of the sum of all even numbers in the sequence {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}.
number = 10
for i in range(1, 11):
if i == 5:
print('The number is 5')
elif i not in set([1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9]):
print(f'The number {i} is even and is not one of the numbers in the sequence')
elif i % 2 == 0:
print(f'The number {i} is even')
number += i
else:
print(f'The number {i} is odd')
number += i
print(f'The result is {number}')
What are the limitations of elif in Python?
Although elif
is a powerful flow control framework in Python, there are some limitations that you should consider when using it. Here are some of the main limitations of elif
:
- We are only going to apply it
elif
together withif
andelse
. This means that it will not be applied in conjunction with other flow control structures such aswhile
orfor
. - If there are multiple conditions
elif
, they are tested in order from first to last. In that sense, if a conditionelif
is true, subsequent conditionselif
are not tested, even if they are true. - does
elif
not allow the use ofelse
as a separate code block. That way, if a conditionelif
is true, the block of codeelse
is not executed, even if allelif
previous conditions are false. - does
elif
not allow the use ofbreak
orcontinue
within a block of codeelif
. Therefore, if a conditionelif
is true, the program will continue to execute the subsequent code block, even if there is a break condition within the code blockelif
. - We apply the
elif
just in conjunction with an expression or a truth test. In this sense, this means that we cannot use it with a list of values, as in aif
regular one, unless each value is tested individually in a separate expression.
Although there are some limitations in using elif
, it is still a powerful flow control framework in Python and we can apply it to create more complex and efficient algorithms. Using the combination of if
, elif
and else
allows you to create multiple test conditions for your code while keeping control structures clear and uncluttered.
Avoid common mistakes when using elif in Python
The elif
is a keyword that is used in conjunction with if
and else
to execute different blocks of code depending on which conditions are true. However, it is possible to make some common mistakes when using elif
in Python. Here are some tips to avoid them:
- Make sure that all conditions in a block
elif
are only true for a single value. That way, when a condition is true for multiple values, it will affect the outcome of all subsequent conditions in the blockelif
. - We will not apply
elif
withcontinue
. When we need to keep running code for just a single value in a list, we use simplyif
instead ofelif
. - We will not apply
elif
in conjunction withand
. Thus, if we need to test two conditions that must be true at the same time, useand
instead ofelif
. - We will not apply
elif
withnot
. When we need to negate a condition in a blockelif
, use itnot
before the condition instead of making a new statement withif not
. - We will not apply
elif
withoutif
orelse
. Therefore, if there is no condition in a blockelif
, it will not be executed. Make sure you always include at least one condition in every blockelif
.
Here is a code example that illustrates these tips:
list = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
if len(list) == 0:
print("The list is empty")
elif len(list) == 1:
print("The list has one element")
elif len(list) == 2:
print("The list has two elements")
elif len(list) == 3:
print("The list has three elements")
elif len(list) == 4:
print("The list has four elements")
elif len(list)
How can we use elif in combination with other flow control structures in Python, such as for and while?
The elif
is a flow control structure in Python that is used to conditionally execute a block of code when a given test is true. The elif
is often used in conjunction with the if
and the else
to create various conditions in a flow control structure.
Although o elif
is often used in conjunction with o if
and o else
, we can also apply it in conjunction with other flow control structures in Python, such as for
e while
. Here are some examples:
With for
:
grades = [7, 8, 6, 9, 5, 10]
for note in notes:
if grade < 6:
print('Very low grade')
elif note < 8:
print('Low Grade')
elif grade < 10:
print('Average grade')
else:
print('High grade')
In this example, we are traversing the list of notes notas
using a loop for
. For each iteration of the loop, we check the grade value and print a corresponding message based on the grade value. So if the grade is less than 6, we print “Very low grade”. Therefore, if the grade is between 6 and 8, inclusive, we print “Basic grade”. If the grade is between 8 and 10, inclusive, we print “Average grade”. If the grade is greater than 10, we print “High grade”.
With while
:
counter = 0
while counter < 5:
if counter == 0:
print('Starting counting')
elif counter == 1:
print('Counting by 1')
elif counter == 2:
print('Counting by 2')
elif counter == 3:
print('Counting by 3')
elif counter == 4:
print('Counting by 4')
else:
print('Completing count')
counter += 1
In this example, we are running a loop while
that continues to execute the code inside the loop as long as the counter contador
is less than 5. So, for each iteration of the loop, we check the value of the counter and print a corresponding message.
In general, elif
is a powerful flow control framework, and we can use it in conjunction with other flow control frameworks in Python to create more complex and powerful algorithms.
How can we use elif in conjunction with sorting and sorting functions in Python?
We can use elif
in conjunction with sorting and sorting functions in Python to perform different actions according to the value returned by these functions. Here are some examples:
- Sort a list in ascending and descending order:
list = [3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9, 2, 6, 5, 3, 5]
if len(list) == 0:
print("The list is empty")
elif sorted(list):
print("The list is sorted in ascending order")
elif reversed(list):
print("The list is sorted in descending order")
else:
print("The list is not sorted")
In this example, the function sorted
is used to sort the list in ascending order. Thus, if we keep the sorted list, the system will display the message ‘The list is sorted in ascending order. But, if the list has no order. The system will show the message “The list is not sorted”.
- Sort a list of integers into multiple ranges:
list = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]
if len(list) == 0:
print("The list is empty")
elif list[:5]:
print("The numbers from 0 to 4 are present in the list")
elif list[5:]:
print("The numbers from 5 to 9 are present in the list")
elif list[:10]:
print("The numbers from 0 to 9 are present in the list")
else:
print("No number is present in the list")
In this example, we split the list into ranges using the slicing operator. Thus, if the list contains numbers from 0 to 4. The system will display the message “The list contains numbers from 0 to 4”. But, if the list has numbers from 5 to 9. The system will show the message “The list contains numbers from 5 to 9”. And if we include all numbers from 0 to 9 in the list, the system will display the message “The list contains numbers from 0 to 9”.
In summary, we can use elif in various ways in conjunction with sorting and sorting functions in Python to perform different actions according to the value these functions return.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the elif
is a powerful keyword in Python that allows you to create more efficient and neat conditional flow control structures. Allowing you to test multiple conditions in a single flow control structure, which makes the code cleaner and easier to understand.
Also, elif
is very useful when we need to execute different blocks of code based on various conditions. This structure allows us to perform different conditions and execute different blocks of code for each of them.
Although elif
and if
in Python have some important differences, both are fundamental to creating effective, well-structured Python programs. So, when we start to learn Python or want to improve our programming skills. It is important to understand how we can use and elif
correctly if
and if else in our programs.