.login and .cshrc files" 1070 is the use of conditionals ( if statements). This article explains the syntax of if statements. Article 47.4 of explains the syntax of the expressions you can test with an if .
The if command is used to begin a conditional statement. The simple format is:
if (expr)cmd
There are three other possible formats, shown side-by-side:
if (expr) then if (expr) then if (expr) thencmdscmds1cmds1endif else else if (expr) thencmds2cmds2endif elsecmds3endif
In the simplest form, execute 
cmd
 if 
expr
 is true; otherwise do nothing (redirection still occurs; this is a bug). In  the other forms, execute one or more commands. If 
expr
 is true, continue with the commands after 
then
; if 
expr
 is false, branch to the commands after 
else
 (or after the 
else if
 and continue checking).  For example, the following 
if
 clause will take a default action if no command-line arguments are given:
if ($#argv == 0) then echo "No filename given. Sending to Report." set outfile = Report else set outfile = $argv[1] endif
For more examples, see article 47.4 .
- from O'Reilly & Associates' UNIX in a Nutshell (SVR4/Solaris)