If & Else

Life is full of decisions, and your code should be too. Kotlin's if/else works just like most languages, but with a cool twist — it can return a value.

The basic if statement

Use if to run code only when a condition is true.

fun main() {
  val age = 18
  if (age >= 18) {
    println("You can vote!")
  }
}
    

if...else

Add an else branch to handle the case when the condition is false.

fun main() {
  val age = 16
  if (age >= 18) {
    println("You can vote!")
  } else {
    println("Too young to vote.")
  }
}
    

else if chains

Check multiple conditions by chaining else if.

fun main() {
  val score = 85
  if (score >= 90) {
    println("A")
  } else if (score >= 80) {
    println("B")
  } else if (score >= 70) {
    println("C")
  } else {
    println("F")
  }
}
    

if as an expression

Here's the Kotlin special — if can return a value. No ternary operator needed.

fun main() {
  val age = 20
  val result = if (age >= 18) "Adult" else "Minor"
  println(result)
}
    

The last expression in each branch becomes the return value. Clean and readable.