Icy_blue  +  211861 Sun, 02 Apr 06 07:37 AM What does "else" mean in "if A then B else C" ? Does it mean " if A then B, and if not A, then C", or "if A then B, unless C"? Very puzzled. Thank you first Icy_blue Joined on Sat, Mar 25 2006 China New Member 41

	Mister Micawber  +  211867 Sun, 02 Apr 06 07:58 AM It means otherwise.  For example, if A happens, then do B; if A does not happen, do C. Mister Micawber Joined on Wed, Aug 4 2004 Yokohama Veteran Member 30,780 'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.'

	Icy_blue  +  211951 Sun, 02 Apr 06 04:20 PM I have thought it for a long time. Maybe it goes this way: If A is true, then perform operation B. Otherwise, perform operation C. In another words: "If the logic A then B is not true, then C happens" Am I right? Icy_blue

	MrPedantic  +  212045 Mon, 03 Apr 06 01:20 AM Hello Icy That's right. For example:   If xyz = 1 then [perform operation A] else [perform operation B] Here, if xyz = 1, A happens. If xyz = e.g. 2, or 4, or 27, B happens. MrP MrPedantic Joined on Tue, Oct 12 2004 Veteran Member 12,592 ...opella forensis / adducit febris...

	Icy_blue  +  233212 Wed, 07 Jun 06 04:21 AM Thank you MrP. I didn’t see your answer until just now. But I still feel it should like this:  "If the logic A then B is not true, then C happens" See this example: If I'm a human being, then I'll metabolize, else I'm frozen under a certain degree. If "then" & "else" in the underlined sentence are not correctly used, which words should replace them to express the relevant logic?   [Well, maybe “A then B else C” is beyond my intelligence. ] Icy_blue

	MrPedantic  +  233637 Thu, 08 Jun 06 01:05 AM Hello Icy I think there may be two different structures in your original question: 1. If X, then do Y; else do Z. 2. If X, then Y is also true; else [i.e. if not X], Z is true. #1 presents commands; #2 presents inferences. But I think it's fine to use "else" in both! MrP MrPedantic