Conditionif

Conditionif is a proposed programming construct discussed in the context of language design and conditional evaluation. The term is not tied to a single language and may refer to a family of ideas intended to streamline conditional execution by foregrounding the condition itself.

In a conditionif, the evaluation of a boolean expression determines which branch to perform, with syntax and semantics described variably by proponents. Unlike separate if statements, a conditionif aims to express the choice as a single construct that yields a value or action depending on the condition. The goal is to make simple decisions more concise and to support expression-oriented programming styles where conditional logic can be embedded in larger expressions.

Example (illustrative, not standardized): conditionif (x > 0) then { positive_case } else { negative_or_zero_case }. In practice, designs may vary, and some proposals might use different keywords or a syntax that resembles existing conditional expressions in other languages. The exact behavior—whether conditionals produce values, side effects, or both—depends on the language design.

Relation to other constructs: conditionif shares goals with the ternary operator, guard clauses, and expression-oriented features found in some languages. Proponents argue that it can improve readability for straightforward branching, while critics worry about ambiguity, overloading expressions with control flow, and potential implementation complexity.

Status: There is no standard language feature universally recognized as conditionif. It appears mainly in theoretical discussions, speculative proposals, or exploratory language design work. Related concepts include if statements, conditional expressions, the ternary operator, and guard clauses.