possible "if" syntaxes in Python3

Question

I´d like to know if there´s a way to shorten an "if", that contains more than one command.

I know you can do it for single command if´s like:

if x > y:
   print("normal if")

and it becomes:

if x > y: print("shortened if")

But how could it be done in this case, for example?

if x > y:
   print("normal if")
   some_number *= 2

just out of curiosity. But i think it would be useful for a huge enough file that has thousands of these "if´s", to make it smaller (that´s just a feeling tho, i can´t say it for sure) — Mateus Buarque, Jan 20 '18 at 14:40
If you really want to put it into a single line you can use semicolons, e.g.: `if x > y: print("normal if"); some_number *= 2` but I would really recommend against it. It just makes it harder to read (without any benefit I can think of) — UnholySheep, Jan 20 '18 at 14:41
Python is all about readability and clarity. Why would you want to avoid that? — Martijn Pieters, Jan 20 '18 at 14:42
@MartijnPieters i just wanted to know really, i don´t intend to use it in my codes. — Mateus Buarque, Jan 20 '18 at 14:46
@MateusBuarque the case of "I have thousands of these ifs" is arguably exactly where you should *avoid* doing that. The indent makes it very readable, a single-line `if` is much harder to notice when looking through the code. — Zinki, Jan 20 '18 at 14:46
@Elmex80s it was just an example. And, yes, sometimes you do need more than 1 line inside of an if. — Mateus Buarque, Jan 20 '18 at 15:47

costrouc · Answer 1 · 2018-01-20T15:12:30.097

4

You can shorten the command if you use a semicolon. See the behavior of a python semicolon

if x > y:
   print("normal if")
   some_number *= 2

Can be shortened to

if x > y: print("normal_if"); some_number *= 2

I am not saying that this is the right thing to do but it is possible. I recommend against it since it is harder to read.

edited Jan 20 '18 at 15:12

answered Jan 20 '18 at 14:41

costrouc

1 Answers1