6/3/2021 Statements and flow control - C++ Tutorials

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Tutorials Statements and flow control

C++ Language A simple C++ statement is each of the individual instructions of a program, like the variable declarations and
Ascii Codes expressions seen in previous sections. They always end with a semicolon (;), and are executed in the same order in
Boolean Operations which they appear in a program.
Numerical Bases
But programs are not limited to a linear sequence of statements. During its process, a program may repeat segments
C++ Language of code, or take decisions and bifurcate. For that purpose, C++ provides flow control statements that serve to specify
Introduction: what has to be done by our program, when, and under which circumstances.
Compilers
Basics of C++: Many of the flow control statements explained in this section require a generic (sub)statement as part of its syntax.
Structure of a program This statement may either be a simple C++ statement, -such as a single instruction, terminated with a semicolon (;) -
Variables and types or a compound statement. A compound statement is a group of statements (each of them terminated by its own
Constants semicolon), but all grouped together in a block, enclosed in curly braces: {}:
Operators
{ statement1; statement2; statement3; }
Basic Input/Output
Program structure:
The entire block is considered a single statement (composed itself of multiple substatements). Whenever a generic
Statements and flow control
statement is part of the syntax of a flow control statement, this can either be a simple statement or a compound
Functions
statement.
Overloads and templates
Name visibility
Compound data types: Selection statements: if and else
Arrays
The if keyword is used to execute a statement or block, if, and only if, a condition is fulfilled. Its syntax is:
Character sequences
Pointers
if (condition) statement
Dynamic memory
Data structures Here, condition is the expression that is being evaluated. If this condition is true, statement is executed. If it is false,
Other data types statement is not executed (it is simply ignored), and the program continues right after the entire selection statement.
Classes: For example, the following code fragment prints the message (x is 100), only if the value stored in the x variable is
Classes (I) indeed 100:
Classes (II)
Special members 1 if (x == 100)
Friendship and inheritance 2 cout << "x is 100";
Polymorphism
Other language features:
Type conversions If x is not exactly 100, this statement is ignored, and nothing is printed.
Exceptions
Preprocessor directives If you want to include more than a single statement to be executed when the condition is fulfilled, these statements
Standard library: shall be enclosed in braces ({}), forming a block:
Input/output with files
1 if (x == 100)
Secure a Domain 2 {
Name today. See More 3 cout << "x is ";
4 cout << x;
OVHcloud
5 }

As usual, indentation and line breaks in the code have no effect, so the above code is equivalent to:

if (x == 100) { cout << "x is "; cout << x; }

Selection statements with if can also specify what happens when the condition is not fulfilled, by using the else
keyword to introduce an alternative statement. Its syntax is:

if (condition) statement1 else statement2

where statement1 is executed in case condition is true, and in case it is not, statement2 is executed.

For example:

1 if (x == 100)
2 cout << "x is 100";
3 else
4 cout << "x is not 100";

This prints x is 100, if indeed x has a value of 100, but if it does not, and only if it does not, it prints x is not 100
instead.
Several if + else structures can be concatenated with the intention of checking a range of values. For example:

1 if (x > 0)
2 cout << "x is positive";
3 else if (x < 0)
4 cout << "x is negative";
5 else
6 cout << "x is 0";

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This prints whether x is positive, negative, or zero by concatenating two if-else structures. Again, it would have also
been possible to execute more than a single statement per case by grouping them into blocks enclosed in braces: {}.

Iteration statements (loops)

Loops repeat a statement a certain number of times, or while a condition is fulfilled. They are introduced by the
keywords while, do, and for.

The while loop

The simplest kind of loop is the while-loop. Its syntax is:

while (expression) statement

The while-loop simply repeats statement while expression is true. If, after any execution of statement, expression is no
longer true, the loop ends, and the program continues right after the loop. For example, let's have a look at a
countdown using a while-loop:

1 // custom countdown using while 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, liftoff!

2 #include <iostream>
3 using namespace std;
4
5 int main ()
6 {
7 int n = 10;
8 Edit
9 while (n>0) { &
10 cout << n << ", "; Run
11 --n;
12 }
13
14 cout << "liftoff!\n";
15 }

The first statement in main sets n to a value of 10. This is the first number in the countdown. Then the while-loop
begins: if this value fulfills the condition n>0 (that n is greater than zero), then the block that follows the condition is
executed, and repeated for as long as the condition (n>0) remains being true.

The whole process of the previous program can be interpreted according to the following script (beginning in main):

1. n is assigned a value
2. The while condition is checked (n>0). At this point there are two possibilities:
condition is true: the statement is executed (to step 3)
condition is false: ignore statement and continue after it (to step 5)
3. Execute statement:
cout << n << ", ";
--n;
(prints the value of n and decreases n by 1)
4. End of block. Return automatically to step 2.
5. Continue the program right after the block:
print liftoff! and end the program.

A thing to consider with while-loops is that the loop should end at some point, and thus the statement shall alter values
checked in the condition in some way, so as to force it to become false at some point. Otherwise, the loop will continue
looping forever. In this case, the loop includes --n, that decreases the value of the variable that is being evaluated in
the condition (n) by one - this will eventually make the condition (n>0) false after a certain number of loop iterations. To
be more specific, after 10 iterations, n becomes 0, making the condition no longer true, and ending the while-loop.

Note that the complexity of this loop is trivial for a computer, and so the whole countdown is performed instantly,
without any practical delay between elements of the count (if interested, see sleep_for for a countdown example with
delays).

The do-while loop

A very similar loop is the do-while loop, whose syntax is:

do statement while (condition);

It behaves like a while-loop, except that condition is evaluated after the execution of statement instead of before,
guaranteeing at least one execution of statement, even if condition is never fulfilled. For example, the following
example program echoes any text the user introduces until the user enters goodbye:

1 // echo machine Enter text: hello

2 #include <iostream> You entered: hello
3 #include <string> Enter text: who's there?
4 using namespace std; You entered: who's there?
5 Enter text: goodbye
6 int main () You entered: goodbye
7 { Edit
8 string str; &
9 do { Run
10 cout << "Enter text: ";
11 getline (cin,str);
12 cout << "You entered: " << str << '\n';
13 } while (str != "goodbye");
14 }

The do-while loop is usually preferred over a while-loop when the statement needs to be executed at least once, such
as when the condition that is checked to end of the loop is determined within the loop statement itself. In the previous
example, the user input within the block is what will determine if the loop ends. And thus, even if the user wants to end
the loop as soon as possible by entering goodbye, the block in the loop needs to be executed at least once to prompt for
input, and the condition can, in fact, only be determined after it is executed.

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The for loop
The for loop is designed to iterate a number of times. Its syntax is:

for (initialization; condition; increase) statement;

Like the while-loop, this loop repeats statement while condition is true. But, in addition, the for loop provides specific
locations to contain an initialization and an increase expression, executed before the loop begins the first time, and
after each iteration, respectively. Therefore, it is especially useful to use counter variables as condition.

It works in the following way:

1. initialization is executed. Generally, this declares a counter variable, and sets it to some initial value. This is
executed a single time, at the beginning of the loop.
2. condition is checked. If it is true, the loop continues; otherwise, the loop ends, and statement is skipped, going
directly to step 5.
3. statement is executed. As usual, it can be either a single statement or a block enclosed in curly braces { }.
4. increase is executed, and the loop gets back to step 2.
5. the loop ends: execution continues by the next statement after it.

Here is the countdown example using a for loop:

1 // countdown using a for loop 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, liftoff!

2 #include <iostream>
3 using namespace std;
4
5 int main ()
6 Edit
{
7 for (int n=10; n>0; n--) { &
8 cout << n << ", "; Run
9 }
10 cout << "liftoff!\n";
11 }

The three fields in a for-loop are optional. They can be left empty, but in all cases the semicolon signs between them
are required. For example, for (;n<10;) is a loop without initialization or increase (equivalent to a while-loop); and for
(;n<10;++n) is a loop with increase, but no initialization (maybe because the variable was already initialized before the
loop). A loop with no condition is equivalent to a loop with true as condition (i.e., an infinite loop).

Because each of the fields is executed in a particular time in the life cycle of a loop, it may be useful to execute more
than a single expression as any of initialization, condition, or statement. Unfortunately, these are not statements, but
rather, simple expressions, and thus cannot be replaced by a block. As expressions, they can, however, make use of the
comma operator (,): This operator is an expression separator, and can separate multiple expressions where only one is
generally expected. For example, using it, it would be possible for a for loop to handle two counter variables, initializing
and increasing both:

1 for ( n=0, i=100 ; n!=i ; ++n, --i )

2 {
3 // whatever here...
4 }

This loop will execute 50 times if neither n or i are modified within the loop:

n starts with a value of 0, and i with 100, the condition is n!=i (i.e., that n is not equal to i). Because n is increased by
one, and i decreased by one on each iteration, the loop's condition will become false after the 50th iteration, when
both n and i are equal to 50.

Range-based for loop

The for-loop has another syntax, which is used exclusively with ranges:

for ( declaration : range ) statement;

This kind of for loop iterates over all the elements in range, where declaration declares some variable able to take the
value of an element in this range. Ranges are sequences of elements, including arrays, containers, and any other type
supporting the functions begin and end; Most of these types have not yet been introduced in this tutorial, but we are
already acquainted with at least one kind of range: strings, which are sequences of characters.

An example of range-based for loop using strings:

1 // range-based for loop [H][e][l][l][o][!]

2 #include <iostream>
3 #include <string>
4 using namespace std;
5
6 int main ()
7 { Edit
8 string str {"Hello!"}; &
9 for (char c : str) Run
10 {
11 cout << "[" << c << "]";
12 }
13 cout << '\n';
14 }

Note how what precedes the colon (:) in the for loop is the declaration of a char variable (the elements in a string are
of type char). We then use this variable, c, in the statement block to represent the value of each of the elements in the

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range.

This loop is automatic and does not require the explicit declaration of any counter variable.

Range based loops usually also make use of type deduction for the type of the elements with auto. Typically, the range-
based loop above can also be written as:

1 for (auto c : str)

2 cout << "[" << c << "]";

Here, the type of c is automatically deduced as the type of the elements in str.

Jump statements
Jump statements allow altering the flow of a program by performing jumps to specific locations.

The break statement

break leaves a loop, even if the condition for its end is not fulfilled. It can be used to end an infinite loop, or to force it
to end before its natural end. For example, let's stop the countdown before its natural end:

1 // break loop example 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, countdown aborted!

2 #include <iostream>
3 using namespace std;
4
5 int main ()
6 {
7 for (int n=10; n>0; n--)
8 { Edit
9 cout << n << ", "; &
10 if (n==3) Run
11 {
12 cout << "countdown aborted!";
13 break;
14 }
15 }
16 }

The continue statement

The continue statement causes the program to skip the rest of the loop in the current iteration, as if the end of the
statement block had been reached, causing it to jump to the start of the following iteration. For example, let's skip
number 5 in our countdown:

1 // continue loop example 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1, liftoff!

2 #include <iostream>
3 using namespace std;
4
5 int main ()
6 { Edit
7 for (int n=10; n>0; n--) { &
8 if (n==5) continue; Run
9 cout << n << ", ";
10 }
11 cout << "liftoff!\n";
12 }

The goto statement

goto allows to make an absolute jump to another point in the program. This unconditional jump ignores nesting levels,
and does not cause any automatic stack unwinding. Therefore, it is a feature to use with care, and preferably within the
same block of statements, especially in the presence of local variables.

The destination point is identified by a label, which is then used as an argument for the goto statement. A label is made
of a valid identifier followed by a colon (:).

goto is generally deemed a low-level feature, with no particular use cases in modern higher-level programming
paradigms generally used with C++. But, just as an example, here is a version of our countdown loop using goto:

1 // goto loop example 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, liftoff!

2 #include <iostream>
3 using namespace std;
4
5 int main ()
6 {
7 int n=10; Edit
8 mylabel: &
9 cout << n << ", "; Run
10 n--;
11 if (n>0) goto mylabel;
12 cout << "liftoff!\n";
13 }

Another selection statement: switch.

The syntax of the switch statement is a bit peculiar. Its purpose is to check for a value among a number of possible
constant expressions. It is something similar to concatenating if-else statements, but limited to constant expressions.
Its most typical syntax is:

switch (expression)
{
case constant1:
group-of-statements-1;

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break;
case constant2:
group-of-statements-2;
break;
.
.
.
default:
default-group-of-statements
}

It works in the following way: switch evaluates expression and checks if it is equivalent to constant1; if it is, it
executes group-of-statements-1 until it finds the break statement. When it finds this break statement, the program
jumps to the end of the entire switch statement (the closing brace).

If expression was not equal to constant1, it is then checked against constant2. If it is equal to this, it executes group-
of-statements-2 until a break is found, when it jumps to the end of the switch.

Finally, if the value of expression did not match any of the previously specified constants (there may be any number of
these), the program executes the statements included after the default: label, if it exists (since it is optional).

Both of the following code fragments have the same behavior, demonstrating the if-else equivalent of a switch
statement:

switch example if-else equivalent

switch (x) {
if (x == 1) {
case 1:
cout << "x is 1";
cout << "x is 1";
}
break;
else if (x == 2) {
case 2:
cout << "x is 2";
cout << "x is 2";
}
break;
else {
default:
cout << "value of x unknown";
cout << "value of x unknown";
}
}

The switch statement has a somewhat peculiar syntax inherited from the early times of the first C compilers, because it
uses labels instead of blocks. In the most typical use (shown above), this means that break statements are needed
after each group of statements for a particular label. If break is not included, all statements following the case
(including those under any other labels) are also executed, until the end of the switch block or a jump statement (such
as break) is reached.

If the example above lacked the break statement after the first group for case one, the program would not jump
automatically to the end of the switch block after printing x is 1, and would instead continue executing the statements
in case two (thus printing also x is 2). It would then continue doing so until a break statement is encountered, or the
end of the switch block. This makes unnecessary to enclose the statements for each case in braces {}, and can also be
useful to execute the same group of statements for different possible values. For example:

1 switch (x) {
2 case 1:
3 case 2:
4 case 3:
5 cout << "x is 1, 2 or 3";
6 break;
7 default:
8 cout << "x is not 1, 2 nor 3";
9 }

Notice that switch is limited to compare its evaluated expression against labels that are constant expressions. It is not
possible to use variables as labels or ranges, because they are not valid C++ constant expressions.

To check for ranges or values that are not constant, it is better to use concatenations of if and else if statements.

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