5.2: Why Programs Need Branches

So far, many of the MATLAB programs you have written probably run in a straight line. MATLAB starts at the first statement, executes it, moves to the next statement, and continues until the script or function is finished. This works well for simple calculations, but real programs usually need to make choices.

For example, imagine that you write a program that calculates the square root of a number. The square root of a positive number is straightforward. But what if the user enters a negative number by mistake? The program should not blindly continue as if nothing happened. It should check the input and decide what to do next.

There are several possible algorithms. One program might reject the negative input and ask the user to try again. Another program might automatically convert the number to a positive value before calculating the square root. In both cases, the program must make a decision. This decision creates a branch in the code.

Note

A branch allows a program to choose whether to run certain statements based on a condition. In MATLAB, the two main branching tools are if statements and switch statements.

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