Level 11. Making Decisions (The Fork in the Road)

In Hica, an if expression is like a fork in the road. You go left or right depending on a condition, and both paths must lead to a value.

fun negate(x) => if x < 0 { -x } else { x }

Notice the -x. Hica can negate numbers directly! No need to write 0 - x.

You can even use it to set a variable:

fun main() {
  let a = if 10 > 5 { 10 } else { 5 }
  println(a)
}

Both sides of the fork must give back a value. Hica won’t let you leave one path empty. That way nothing ever gets lost!

Chaining decisions

When you have more than two choices, use else if:

fun fizzbuzz(n) =>
  if n == 15 { "fizzbuzz" }
  else if n == 3 { "fizz" }
  else if n == 5 { "buzz" }
  else { "other" }

fun main() {
  let result = fizzbuzz(15)
  println(result)
}

It’s like a chain of doors. You check each one until you find the right room.

🎯 Try it: Write a function size(n) that returns "small" if n < 10, "medium" if n < 100, and "big" otherwise.