What is Loop in C?

Looping Statements in C execute the sequence of statements

many times until the stated condition becomes false. A loop in C
consists of two parts, a body of a loop and a control statement. The
control statement is a combination of some conditions that direct
the body of the loop to execute until the specified condition
becomes false. The purpose of the C loop is to repeat the same
code a number of times.

Types of Loops in C
Depending upon the position of a control statement in a program,
looping statement in C is classified into two types:

1. Entry controlled loop

2. Exit controlled loop

In an entry control loop in C, a condition is checked before

executing the body of a loop. It is also called as a pre-checking
loop.

In an exit controlled loop, a condition is checked after executing

the body of a loop. It is also called as a post-checking loop.
 Sample Loop
The control conditions must be well defined and specified otherwise
the loop will execute an infinite number of times. The loop that does
not stop executing and processes the statements number of times
is called as an infinite loop. An infinite loop is also called as an
“Endless loop.” Following are some characteristics of an infinite
loop:

1. No termination condition is specified.

2. The specified conditions never meet.

The specified condition determines whether to execute the loop

body or not.

‘C’ programming language provides us with three types of loop

constructs:

1. The while loop

2. The do-while loop

3. The for loop

Sr. Loop
Description
No. Type
In while loop, a condition is evaluated before processing a body of the
While
1. loop. If a condition is true then and only then the body of a loop is
Loop
executed.
Do-
In a do…while loop, the condition is always executed after the body of
2. While
a loop. It is also called an exit-controlled loop.
Loop
In a for loop, the initial value is performed only once, then the
3. For Loop condition tests and compares the counter to a fixed value after each
iteration, stopping the for loop when false is returned.

While Loop in C
A while loop is the most straightforward looping structure. While
loop syntax in C programming language is as follows:

Syntax of While Loop in C

while (condition) {
 statements;
}

It is an entry-controlled loop. In while loop, a condition is evaluated

before processing a body of the loop. If a condition is true then and
only then the body of a loop is executed. After the body of a loop is
executed then control again goes back at the beginning, and the
condition is checked if it is true, the same process is executed until
the condition becomes false. Once the condition becomes false, the
control goes out of the loop.

After exiting the loop, the control goes to the statements which are
immediately after the loop. The body of a loop can contain more
than one statement. If it contains only one statement, then the curly
braces are not compulsory. It is a good practice though to use the
curly braces even we have a single statement in the body.

In while loop, if the condition is not true, then the body of a loop will
not be executed, not even once. It is different in do while loop which
we will see shortly.

Following program illustrates while loop in C programming example:

#include<stdio.h>
#include<conio.h>
int main()
{
int num=1; //initializing the variable
while(num<=10) //while loop with condition
{
printf("%d\n",num);
num++; //incrementing operation
}
return 0;
}
Output:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
The above program illustrates the use of while loop. In the above
program, we have printed series of numbers from 1 to 10 using a
while loop.

While Loop in C Programming

1. We have initialized a variable called num with value 1. We are

going to print from 1 to 10 hence the variable is initialized with
value 1. If you want to print from 0, then assign the value 0
during initialization.
2. In a while loop, we have provided a condition (num<=10),
which means the loop will execute the body until the value of
num becomes 10. After that, the loop will be terminated, and
control will fall outside the loop.
3. In the body of a loop, we have a print function to print our
number and an increment operation to increment the value per
execution of a loop. An initial value of num is 1, after the
execution, it will become 2, and during the next execution, it
will become 3. This process will continue until the value
becomes 10 and then it will print the series on console and
terminate the loop.

\n is used for formatting purposes which means the value will be

printed on a new line.

Do-While loop in C
A do…while loop in C is similar to the while loop except that the
condition is always executed after the body of a loop. It is also
called an exit-controlled loop.
Syntax of do while loop in C programming language is as follows:

Syntax of Do-While Loop in C

do {
statements
} while (expression);

As we saw in a while loop, the body is executed if and only if the

condition is true. In some cases, we have to execute a body of the
loop at least once even if the condition is false. This type of
operation can be achieved by using a do-while loop.

In the do-while loop, the body of a loop is always executed at least

once. After the body is executed, then it checks the condition. If the
condition is true, then it will again execute the body of a loop
otherwise control is transferred out of the loop.

Similar to the while loop, once the control goes out of the loop the
statements which are immediately after the loop is executed.

The critical difference between the while and do-while loop is that in
while loop the while is written at the beginning. In do-while loop, the
while condition is written at the end and terminates with a semi-
colon (;)

The following loop program in C illustrates the working of a do-while

loop:

Below is a do-while loop in C example to print a table of number 2:

#include<stdio.h>
#include<conio.h>
int main()
{
int num=1; //initializing the variable
do //do-while loop
{
printf("%d\n",2*num);
num++; //incrementing operation
}while(num<=10);
return 0;
}
Output:
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
In the above example, we have printed multiplication table of 2
using a do-while loop. Let’s see how the program was able to print
the series.

Do-While Loop in C Programming

1. First, we have initialized a variable ‘num’ with value 1. Then

we have written a do-while loop.
2. In a loop, we have a print function that will print the series by
multiplying the value of num with 2.
3. After each increment, the value of num will increase by 1, and
it will be printed on the screen.
4. Initially, the value of num is 1. In a body of a loop, the print
function will be executed in this way: 2*num where num=1,
then 2*1=2 hence the value two will be printed. This will go on
until the value of num becomes 10. After that loop will be
terminated and a statement which is immediately after the
loop will be executed. In this case return 0.

For loop in C
A for loop is a more efficient loop structure in ‘C’ programming. The
general structure of for loop syntax in C is as follows:

Syntax of For Loop in C

for (initial value; condition; incrementation or decrementation )
{
statements;
}

 The initial value of the for loop is performed only once.

 The condition is a Boolean expression that tests and
compares the counter to a fixed value after each iteration,
stopping the for loop when false is returned.
 The incrementation/decrementation increases (or decreases)
the counter by a set value.

Following program illustrates the for loop in C programming

example:
#include<stdio.h>
int main()
{
int number;
for(number=1;number<=10;number++) //for loop to print 1-10
numbers
{
printf("%d\n",number); //to print the number
}
return 0;
}
Output:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
The above program prints the number series from 1-10 using for
loop.

For Loop in C Programming

 1. We have declared a variable of an int data type to store
values.
2. In for loop, in the initialization part, we have assigned value 1
to the variable number. In the condition part, we have
specified our condition and then the increment part.
3. In the body of a loop, we have a print function to print the
numbers on a new line in the console. We have the value one
stored in number, after the first iteration the value will be
incremented, and it will become 2. Now the variable number
has the value 2. The condition will be rechecked and since the
condition is true loop will be executed, and it will print two on
the screen. This loop will keep on executing until the value of
the variable becomes 10. After that, the loop will be
terminated, and a series of 1-10 will be printed on the screen.

In C, the for loop can have multiple expressions separated by

commas in each part.

For example:
for (x = 0, y = num; x < y; i++, y--) {
statements;
}
Also, we can skip the initial value expression, condition and/or
increment by adding a semicolon.

For example:
int i=0;
int max = 10;
for (; i < max; i++) {
printf("%d\n", i);
}
Notice that loops can also be nested where there is an outer loop
and an inner loop. For each iteration of the outer loop, the inner
loop repeats its entire cycle.

Consider the following example with multiple conditions in for loop,

that uses nested for loop in C programming to output a
multiplication table:
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
int i, j;
int table = 2;
int max = 5;
for (i = 1; i <= table; i++) { // outer loop
for (j = 0; j <= max; j++) { // inner loop
printf("%d x %d = %d\n", i, j, i*j);
}
printf("\n"); /* blank line between tables */
}}
Output:
1 x 0 = 0
1 x 1 = 1
1 x 2 = 2
1 x 3 = 3
1 x 4 = 4
1 x 5 = 5

2 x 0 = 0
2 x 1 = 2
2 x 2 = 4
2 x 3 = 6
2 x 4 = 8
2 x 5 = 10
The nesting of for loops can be done up-to any level. The nested
loops should be adequately indented to make code readable. In
some versions of ‘C,’ the nesting is limited up to 15 loops, but some
provide more.

The nested loops are mostly used in array applications which we

will see in further tutorials.

Break Statement in C
The break statement is used mainly in the switch statement. It is
also useful for immediately stopping a loop.

We consider the following program which introduces a break to exit

a while loop:
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
int num = 5;
while (num > 0) {
if (num == 3)
break;
printf("%d\n", num);
num--;
}}
Output:
5
4
Continue Statement in C
When you want to skip to the next iteration but remain in the loop,
you should use the continue statement.

For example:
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
int nb = 7;
while (nb > 0) {
nb--;
if (nb == 5)
continue;
printf("%d\n", nb);
}}
Output:
6
4
3
2
1
So, the value 5 is skipped.

Which loop to Select?

Selection of a loop is always a tough task for a programmer, to
select a loop do the following steps:

 Analyze the problem and check whether it requires a pre-test

or a post-test loop.
 If pre-test is required, use a while or for a loop.
 If post-test is required, use a do-while loop.

Summary
 Define loop in C: A Loop is one of the key concepts on
any Programming language. Loops in C language are
implemented using conditional statements.
 A block of loop control statements in C are executed for
number of times until the condition becomes false.
 Loops in C programming are of 2 types: entry-controlled and
exit-controlled.
 List various loop control instructions in C: C programming
provides us 1) while 2) do-while and 3) for loop control
instructions.
 For and while loop C programming are entry-controlled loops
in C language.
 Do-while is an exit control loop in C.