=====if=====

The 'if' statement is one of many methods to control the flow of a program.  It tests whether or not a certain condition is true, and then executes code based on the test.

<code cpp>
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main(){

if (TRUE){
   cout << "This statement will be executed";
}

if (FALSE){
   cout << "This one will not";
}
return 0;
}</code>

The output of this simple program is as follows:
<file>
This statement will be executed
</file>
The 'if' statement is commonly used with the 'else' statement.  Else gives a program direction in case a condition of an if statement evaluates to false.

It can be used to clean up the above code a bit:
<code cpp>
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main(){

if (TRUE){
   cout << "This statement will be executed";
}else{
   cout << "This one will not";
}
return 0;
}
</code>
These two programs produce the exact same output.