What type of error occurs when the logic statements in a program do not produce the intended result?

A logical error occurs when the program runs without crashing or throwing an error, yet it produces unexpected or incorrect results due to flaws in the logic of the code. This type of error is particularly insidious because the program appears functional, but the output doesn’t align with the intended purpose or behavior outlined by the developer.

For instance, if a programmer writes a loop to calculate the average of a set of numbers but mistakenly sums the numbers incorrectly, the program will execute without any interruptions but will yield the wrong average. Identifying logical errors often requires thorough testing and debugging, as their effects are typically only visible when reviewing the output.

In contrast, syntax errors occur when the code written doesn't conform to the rules of the programming language, resulting in a failure to compile or run the program. Runtime errors happen while the program is executing, typically due to operations that are invalid in the current context, such as dividing by zero. Type errors arise when there is a mismatch between the types of data being processed, such as attempting to perform operations on incompatible data types. While these errors affect the execution and compilation, they do not reflect the underlying logic flaws that a logical error represents.