Part of a series of posts explaining programming for the lay-person.

This is part of a series of posts; see the introduction to this series.

In programming a statement is not a statement at all but rather as single instruction or request. “‍Apply to wet hair‍” is a statement found on many shampoo bottles; “‍rinse‍” is another. Recipes often contain many statements: “‍butter one side of a slice of bread‍”, “‍grill until lightly browned‍”, “‍separate egg whites‍”, etc.

There are two important features of a statement. First, a statement is a sentence, not a noun phrase; it doesn’t give back any information. “‍Write 2 + 3 on a piece of paper‍” is a statement, but “‍add 2 to 3‍” is not. Second, a statement describes a single action. This a matter of presentation; “‍wash your hair‍” is a fine statement, as is “‍apply shampoo to hair‍” and “‍move palm across scalp‍”. However, “‍apply shampoo to hair, lather and rinse‍” is not one but three statements.

That’s it. Statements.