What does it mean if a programming statement is executed conditionally?

When a programming statement is executed conditionally, it means that the execution of that statement relies on specific conditions being evaluated as true. This concept is central to control flow in programming, allowing developers to direct the program’s operations based on varying states and inputs.

For instance, in many programming languages, conditionals are implemented using statements like "if", "else if", and "else." These constructs enable the program to check certain conditions and decide which block of code to execute. If the condition is true, the associated code block runs; if not, it may skip that block or execute an alternative block of code.

This capability is essential for creating dynamic and responsive programs that react differently to user input or other runtime conditions. It creates logical pathways through the code that can lead to different behaviors based on the circumstances at the moment of execution.