Which programming concept is often utilized for managing application flow based on certain conditions?

Branching is the programming concept that is primarily used to manage the flow of an application based on specific conditions. This concept allows the program to make decisions and execute different paths of code depending on whether certain criteria are met. For example, with constructs like if-else statements and switch statements, a program can choose to execute one block of code when a condition is true and another block when it is false. This decision-making capability is essential for handling different scenarios within an application, making it dynamic and responsive to various inputs or states.

In contrast, looping typically involves repeating a set of instructions multiple times, dependent on certain conditions, but does not itself manage flow in a decision-making sense. Sequential execution refers to the process of executing statements one after another in a predetermined order, which does not involve any decision-making. Inheritance is a fundamental concept in object-oriented programming that allows one class to inherit properties and methods from another, but it does not pertain to controlling the flow of execution based on conditions. Thus, branching is the key concept when it comes to managing application flow based on criteria.