Elseif chains

An elseif chain keeps several statement branches at one indentation level:

if score >= 90 then
    print("excellent")
elseif score >= 60 then
    print("passed")
elseif score > 0 then
    print("keep trying")
else
    print("no score")
end

Pop checks conditions from top to bottom. It stops after the first true condition, so later conditions and their effects do not run. The optional else handles the remaining case. One final end closes the entire chain.

Every condition must be Boolean; there is no number, string, object, or nil truthiness.

Branch scopes

Each arm has its own local scope:

if first then
    local message = "first"
    print(message)
elseif second then
    local message = "second"
    print(message)
end

Neither message exists after the chain. Reusing the local name is safe because the bindings belong to different branches.

Use elseif for statement blocks. When each arm only chooses one value, an if expression is often shorter:

local label = if ready then "ready" else "waiting"