ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Conditional (computer programming)

Conditional programming is like playing a game with rules that depend on certain things happening. Imagine you're playing a game where you have to guess the secret number your friend is thinking of.

If your guess is too low, your friend might say "too low!" and you need to try again with a higher number.

On the other hand, if your guess is too high, your friend might say "too high!" and you need to try again with a lower number.

This is like a conditional statement in programming. It tells the computer what to do if a certain condition is met. For example, if the condition is "the user inputs a number less than 10," the computer might respond with "too low!" and ask the user to try again with a higher number.

Conditional statements are important in programming because they allow the computer to make decisions based on input from the user, other parts of the program, or external factors like time or weather. It's like giving the computer a set of rules to follow, so it knows what it should do in any given situation.