# Part 4.2If statements

One of the most useful programming constructs in any programming language is flow control. The if statement is the simplest flow control construct.

## Building an if statement

In YASS, an if statement follows a structure similar to VB.NET. There are only two essentials of an if statement, that is, the if at the start and the end if at the end.

The following code sample demonstrates the structure of an if statement in YASS:

YASS
if (x ? y)
//Do something here
end if


Where x and y represent some variables and ? represents a conditional operator. For example:

YASS
if (10 > 5)
print("Yes")
$v = true end if  If statement in YASS can also be shortened using the then keyword: YASS if x ? y then //Do something here  For example: YASS if 10 > 5 then print("Yes")  Whilst from time to time it maybe handy to use the shorthand syntax, it is often the case that the full syntax is easier to read. It is important to note that when using the then keyword that brackets should be omitted from the condition. ## Else If a condition is not satisified it evaluates to false. When this happens an if statement will ignore the code on the inside of the statement and will not execute it. This is where else statements come in. If the condition evaluates to false and an else statement is provided then the program will execute the code within the else statement. YASS if (10 > 5) print("Yes")$v = true
else
print("No")
\$v = false
end if


Note that else statement can also be used with the shorthand syntax if statement.

YASS
if 10 > 5 then
print("Yes")
else
print("No")


The usual rule of one expression after the then keyword applies to the code after the else keyword.

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