How does an 'IF' statement differ from a WHILE loop?

An 'IF' statement is fundamentally designed to evaluate a condition and execute a block of code only if that condition is true. It is executed once at the point it is encountered in the program flow. This means that no matter how many times the program runs or the location of the 'IF' statement, it will only check the condition and act on it once during that instance. This characteristic is what distinguishes it from a WHILE loop, which is designed to repeat a block of code continuously as long as a specified condition remains true. A WHILE loop evaluates its condition repeatedly, allowing for multiple executions of the code block contained within it until the condition is no longer satisfied. Thus, stating that an 'IF' statement is always executed once accurately reflects its nature and highlights the difference in behavior when compared to looping constructs like the WHILE loop.