What is the purpose of using an if/else statement in programming?

The purpose of using an if/else statement in programming is to control the flow of execution based on a condition. This control structure allows a program to execute one block of code when a specified condition evaluates to true, and a different block when that condition is false.

This functionality is critical for making decisions within the program. For instance, if you are checking whether Karel has reached a specific point in the environment, you could use an if/else statement to determine what Karel should do next—either continue moving forward if the condition is true or take an alternate action if it is false. This promotes dynamic behavior instead of executing a fixed sequence of commands regardless of the situation.

The choices regarding repeating a block of code, storing multiple conditions, or creating a loop do not describe the core function of an if/else statement, but rather pertain to other programming constructs and statements.