Computer Tech Post #5 – Learn to Code: Conditional Code and Logical Operators

After completing the topics of Conditional Code and Logical Operators under Learn to Code 1, I didn’t find any puzzles especially hard. Some were a bit more challenging than others, but after about 3 tries or so, I was able to figure them out.

Conditional code and logical operators make code easier and also specify what you want Blu, Byte, or another character to do.

Conditional code is making your character follow a set of commands if a situation, or boolean, is true. (A situation and a boolean are the same). For example, if you want your character to collect a gem if they are on one, you’d use an ”if” block and code, “if isOnGem ( collectGem() )” If this situation is possibly false, you’d either add an “else if” statement or just an “else” statement. For example, ”if isOnGem ( collectGem ) else if isOnSwitch ( toggleSwitch() ) You’d add an “else if” statement when there are multiple possible situations, but if there is only one other possible situation, you’d just add an ”else” statement with a set of commands and no boolean. When using ”else if”, if the boolean you proposed is true, than your character would follow your set of commands. On the other hand, for just an ”else” statement, there is no boolean because there is no other possible outcome if the first boolean was false. For example, if you want your character to move forward if there is an open switch on their left, but the boolean is false and the only other possible situation is that your character would be behind a closed switch, then you’d put an ”else” statement and add the commands: ”moveForward() toggleSwitch()”

Logical Operators are a feature you can add to your boolean to make the code more specific for your character. There are 3 logical operators I learned. One was the ”NOT” operator, which in code reads as ”!” Another was the AND operator, which in code reads as ”&&” Lastly, the third operator was the OR, which in code reads as ”II” These operators are supposed to change the boolean in a specific way. the NOT operator you’d use right in front of a boolean if you want your character to follow your set of commands if the boolean you proposed is the opposite. For example, “if !isBlocked ( moveForward() ) This would read as, if not is blocked ahead, move forward. The 2 other operators are the AND and the OR. The AND operator is used if you want your character to follow your set of commands when both situations are true. For example, if you want your character to collect a gem and toggle a switch when they’re on a gem and a switch, you’d use it that way. the OR operator is used when you want your character to follow your set of commands if at least one boolean is true.