The order in which a computer program runs its instructions.
Details
By default, a program runs statements from start to bottom.
Think of a program like following a cake recipe:
🤖 Example: Default Flow
preheat oven mix ingredients pour batter into pan bake decorate
By default, you follow the steps in order — this is the normal execution flow.
Sometimes, execution change depending on a condition:
If it’s a chocolate cake, add cocoa powder before baking.
🤖 Example: Conditional Flow
preheat oven
mix ingredients
if chocolate cake:
add cocoa powder
pour batter into pan
bake
decorate
In programming, conditional statements select the statements to run based on a condition.
Or it might repeat one or more steps many times:
Stir the batter until smooth.
🤖 Example: Loop Flow
preheat oven
mix ingredients
if chocolate cake:
add cocoa powder
while batter is lumpy:
stir batter
pour batter into pan
bake
decorate
In programming, iteration statements repeat statements based on a condition.
And sometimes, we may want to jump out and skip to another part of the recipe:
Keep stirring the batter until smooth, but if it starts to overflow, stop immediately.
🤖 Example: Loop with Break
preheat oven
mix ingredients
if chocolate cake:
add cocoa powder
while batter is lumpy:
stir batter
if batter is overflowing:
stop stirring
pour batter into pan
bake
decorate
In programming, jump statements transfer the execution flow to a different line based on a condition.
Related Concepts
- Belongs: Computer Program
- Is changed: Conditional Statement
- Is changed: Iteration Statement
- Is changed: Jump Statement