Control Flow

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.

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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.

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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.

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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

References

• Control flow