COE 281

FLOW OF CONTROL

DR. (MRS) T-S.M.A. ADJAIDOO

TODAY'S LESSON

Decision Iterative Rule of Nested

Statements Statements Braces Statements

COE 281: Programming and Problem-Solving 2

LEARNING OUTCOMES

•Learn how to
1 implement flow
of control in C
COE 281: Programming and Problem-Solving 3
FLOW OF CONTROL

 Most programs (like many humans) decide what to do in response to

changing circumstances.
 For example selecting a particular option/choice out of a number of
options presented or performing an activity a number of times depending
on the prevailing condition.

COE 281: Programming and Problem-Solving 4

FLOW OF CONTROL

 Program statements that help in making a choice or a repetitive action are

called control statements.
 There are two major categories of control statements: decisions and
loops.

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DECISION STATEMENTS

 Decision statements are control statements that enable the program

select an option from a number of options presented.
 This selection is made based on a prevailing condition which should be
true as at the time of selection.
 This is very similar to decisions that humans take at certain times. Their
final decision are guided by conditions.

COE 281: Programming and Problem-Solving 6

DECISION STATEMENTS

 For example one would decide to eat when hungry and decide not to do so
when not hungry.
 Or probably selecting a particular meal to eat depending on the time of
the day.

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DECISION STATEMENTS

 There are two kinds of decision statements that are used in programming
with C.
 They are:
1. if else statements
2. switch case statements

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DECISION STATEMENTS:
IF ELSE STATEMENTS
The general syntax for the if else statement is:
if (condition)
{
statements; // code to execute if condition is true
}
else
{
statements; // code to execute if condition is false
}

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DECISION STATEMENTS:
IF ELSE STATEMENTS

 Bearing in mind that C is a high level language, the if else syntax can be
easily read as:
 if the condition is true execute the statements under the if
 if the condition is false execute the statements under the else.

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DECISION STATEMENTS: IF ELSE
STATEMENTS
Lets take an example:
int x = 20;
if (x % 2 == 0)
{
printf(“The value is even \n”);
}
else
{
printf(“The value is odd \n”);
}
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DECISION STATEMENTS:
IF ELSE STATEMENTS

 The code in the previous slide can be easily read in plain English as:
 if x modulus 2 is equivalent to zero print out “The value is even” else print out
“The value is odd”.
 This is a simple demonstration of selecting one out of two options
depending on the condition.

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DECISION STATEMENTS:
IF ELSE STATEMENTS

 The previous program could have been written to accept a user’s input
rather than having the programmer stating statically that the value of x is
20.
 This is demonstrated in the next slide

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DECISION STATEMENTS:
IF ELSE STATEMENTS
int x;
printf(“Please enter an integer value \n”);
scanf(“%d”, &x);
if (x%2 == 0)
{
printf(“%d is even \n”, x);
}
else
{
printf(“%d is odd \n”, x);
} COE 281: Programming and Problem-Solving 14
DECISION STATEMENTS:
IF ELSE STATEMENTS

 The previous programs present only two options; what to do when the
statement is true and what to do when the statement is false.
 However, there are situations when there are more than two options.
 In such situations there is the introduction of an else if in addition with a
condition as shown in the next slide

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DECISION STATEMENTS:
IF ELSE STATEMENTS
if (conditionA)
{
statements; // code to execute if conditionA is true
}
else if (conditionB)
{
statements; // code to execute if conditionB is true
}
else
{
statements; // code to execute if all conditions above are false
} COE 281: Programming and Problem-Solving 16
DECISION STATEMENTS:
IF ELSE STATEMENTS

 From the previous slide, it is obvious that this syntax presents the compiler
with 3 options and only one would be selected depending on which
condition is true.
 Since C executes procedurally, starting from the top, the very first
condition that the compiler sees to be true would be selected its code
executed.
 Even if there are two true conditions.

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DECISION STATEMENTS:
IF ELSE STATEMENTS
int numb;
printf(“Please enter an integer value \n”);
scanf(“%d”, &numb);
if (numb < 0)
{ printf(“%d is negative \n”, numb); }
else if (numb > 0)
{ printf(“%d is positive \n”, numb); }
else
{ printf(“%d is zero \n”, numb); }
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DECISION STATEMENTS:
IF ELSE STATEMENTS

 From the example above, we realize that the program tells the user whether the value
he/she enters is positive, negative or zero (3 options).
 So to increase the number of options one only needs to include the following as many
times as he/she wants:
else if (condition)
{
statements;
}

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DECISION STATEMENTS:
IF ELSE STATEMENTS

 From the examples above, it is obvious that the else statement (the part at
the far bottom) is the default statement. Hence in case all the above
conditions are false the else statement is executed.
 However, it is important to note that the else statement is not mandatory
and as such may not always appear when a programmer writes an if else
statement.

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DECISION STATEMENTS:
SWITCH CASE STATEMENTS

 Another decision statement in C is the switch case statement.

 It is very similar to the if else statement. It could be used in places where
there are many if else statements as in so many multiple if options
 However, in the switch case, the exact values that match an option are
used in making a decision.
 The following slide shows its general syntax.

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DECISION STATEMENTS:
SWITCH CASE STATEMENTS
switch (expression)
{ case I: statements;
break;
case II: statements;
break;
.
.
case N: statements;
break;
default: statements;
break;
} COE 281: Programming and Problem-Solving 22
DECISION STATEMENTS:
SWITCH CASE STATEMENTS

 In the switch, the statements under the case that matches the expression
are executed.
 The matched case determines where we start executing from and the
break tells us where we end.

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DECISION STATEMENTS:
SWITCH CASE STATEMENTS

 The break means “stop and exit”, it is synonymous to the car’s brake
which causes the car to stop.
 So without the break we would keep executing all the statements
downwards under the matched case until we meet a break or come to the
end of the switch.
 In cases where none of the cases match the expression, the statements
under the default are executed.

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DECISION STATEMENTS:
SWITCH CASE STATEMENTS
char choice;
printf(“Are you a Ghanaian \? \n”);
printf (“Enter y for yes or n for no \n”);
scanf(“%c”, &choice);
switch(choice)
{
case ‘y’: printf (“Ghanaians are hospitable people \n”);
break;
case ‘n’: printf (“I don’t know much about your country \n”);
break;
default : printf (“You did not follow the instruction \n”);
} COE 281: Programming and Problem-Solving 25
DECISION STATEMENTS:
SWITCH CASE STATEMENTS

 The code in the previous slide aims at finding out if the user is a Ghanaian.
The user is asked to enter y for yes and n for no.
 If the user’s answer is y, case y would execute and display just “Ghanaians
are hospitable people” and then stop and exit the switch (because of the
break that follows the printf statement)

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DECISION STATEMENTS:
SWITCH CASE STATEMENTS

 However, if the user’s answer is n, case n would execute and display just “I
don’t know much about your country” and then stop and exit the switch
(because of the break that follows the printf statement).
 Also if the user’s answer is neither y nor n the default case would be
executed

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LOOP STATEMENTS

 Loop statements enable certain programming operations or sections of

code to be executed repeatedly as long as a prevailing condition exists or is
true.
 Each loop/cycle of execution is seen as an iteration.

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LOOP STATEMENTS

 There are three kinds of loop statements that are used in programming
with C.
 They are:
1. while loop statements
2. do while loop statements and
3. for loop statements

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LOOP STATEMENTS:
WHILE LOOP

 The while loop is used to iterate (loop) some specific set of programming
instructions a number of times based on a specified condition.
 The code would keep executing repeatedly until the condition stated
becomes false.

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LOOP STATEMENTS:
WHILE LOOP

The general syntax for the while loop is:

while(condition)
{
statements;
//statements to be executed as long as condition is true
}

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LOOP STATEMENTS:
WHILE LOOP

 Bearing in mind that C is a high level language, the while loop syntax can
be easily read as:
while the condition is true execute the statements under the while.

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LOOP STATEMENTS:
WHILE LOOP

Lets take an example:

int q = 5;
while(q<8)
{
printf(“%d\t”, q);
q++; // increase the value of q by 1
}

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LOOP STATEMENTS:
WHILE LOOP

 From the code on the previous slide, initially q has a value of 5 and that
makes the condition true (i.e. q<8) so the while loop executes the
statement within it.
 The statements within the loop print out the current value of q which is 5
and then after increments the value of q by 1(i.e. q ++) therefore q would
now have a new value of 6 in computer memory.

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LOOP STATEMENTS:
WHILE LOOP

▪ Since it is a loop we would go back and check the condition if it is still

true.
▪ If true we keep executing the statements until the condition turns false.
So the result of the above code is

5 6 7

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LOOP STATEMENTS:
WHILE LOOP
Lets take another example:
int b = 10;
while(b>=7)
{
printf(“%d\t”, b);
b--; // decrease the value of b by 1
}

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LOOP STATEMENTS:
WHILE LOOP

 This code is very similar to the previously explained code.

 If true we keep executing the statements until the condition turns false,
the output of the code would be

10 9 8 7

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LOOP STATEMENTS:
WHILE LOOP

 Note that the position of the statements is very important.

 For the next example we switch the statements around. Let’s see the
output generated

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LOOP STATEMENTS:
WHILE LOOP
Lets take another example:
int b = 10;
while(b>=7)
{
b--; // decrease the value of b by 1
printf(“%d\t”, b);
}

COE 281: Programming and Problem-Solving 39

LOOP STATEMENTS:
WHILE LOOP

 By virtue of the position of the statements, despite the similarity to the

previously executed code, this code would result in the following output

9 8 7 6

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LOOP STATEMENTS:
DO WHILE LOOP

 The do while loop is very much similar to the while loop

 However, in the do while loop the statements are executed first before the
condition is checked.
 As such, in the do while loop, we are always guaranteed of at least one
iteration.

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LOOP STATEMENTS:
DO WHILE LOOP

The general syntax for the do while loop is:

do
{
statements;
//statements to be executed
}
while(condition); // take note there is a semicolon

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LOOP STATEMENTS:
DO WHILE LOOP

 So in the very first instance whether the condition is true or false we go

ahead and do the statements before checking the condition.
 And we only continue to do the statements again if the condition is true.

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LOOP STATEMENTS:
DO WHILE LOOP
Lets take an example:
int m = 1;
do
{
printf(“%d\t”, m);
m++;
}
while(m<=5);

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LOOP STATEMENTS:
DO WHILE LOOP

 From the previous slide, the code start by first initializing the value of m to
1.
 We then go to the do while statement to execute the body of statements
first before checking the condition.
 After the first execution we check the condition and keep executing until
the condition becomes false.
 So the output of the code would be 1 2 3 4 5

COE 281: Programming and Problem-Solving 45

LOOP STATEMENTS:
DO WHILE LOOP
Lets take another example:
int m=1;
do
{
printf(“%d\t”, m);
m++;
}
while(m>=5);

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LOOP STATEMENTS:
DO WHILE LOOP

 From the previous slide, it is obvious that the condition is false from the
beginning.
 However, since in the do while we ought to execute the body of
statements before we check the condition the output of the code would be
1

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LOOP STATEMENTS:
FOR LOOP

 One of the most used loops in C is the for loop.

 It is often used because it is easy to specify how many times the
statements should be looped.
 It is also the preferred choice when iterating through arrays.

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LOOP STATEMENTS:
FOR LOOP

The general syntax for the for loop is:

for(initialization; condition; increment/decrement)
{
statements;
}

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LOOP STATEMENTS:
FOR LOOP
INITIALIZATION
The general algorithm
for executing the for
loop is shown below

CONDITION

INCREMENT/
STATEMENTS
DECREMENT

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LOOP STATEMENTS:
FOR LOOP

 From the algorithm, it is clear that the initialization is only done once.
 Also after the condition is evaluated to be true, the statements are
executed and after the increment/decrement is done (not the other way
round!).
 The for loop would keep iterating as long as the condition is true

COE 281: Programming and Problem-Solving 51

LOOP STATEMENTS:
FOR LOOP

Lets take an example:

int a;
for(a=0; a<4; a++)
{
printf(“%d\t”, a);
}

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LOOP STATEMENTS:
FOR LOOP

 Going by the earlier explained algorithm, the for loop for the example on
the previous slide would have the following output:

0 1 2 3

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LOOP STATEMENTS:
FOR LOOP

Lets take another example:

int c = 0;
for(c=1; c<10; c*=2)
{
printf(“%d\t”, c);
}

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LOOP STATEMENTS:
FOR LOOP

 Once again by the earlier explained algorithm, the for loop for the example
on the previous slide would have the following output

1 2 4 8

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RULE OF THE BRACES {}

 In C, there is a rule for using braces (curly brackets) which state that all
programming constructs or elements which usually have the body of their
statements encapsulated/compounded by braces, can choose to ignore
writing the braces when their body of statements is made up of just one
statement.

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RULE OF THE BRACES {}

 In other words, constructs and elements such as decision statements,

loops and functions can ignore writing/showing braces when they are
made up of only one statement.

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RULE OF THE BRACES {}

 The statement they contain may be an ordinary expression statement

(statement ending with a semicolon) or even a compound statement (such
as flow of control statements and functions).
 As long as there is only one statement, the braces can be ignored

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RULE OF THE BRACES {}

 For example:  Can be written as:

for(int c=1; c<10; c*=2) for(int c=1; c<10; c*=2)
{ printf(“%d\t”, c);
printf(“%d\t”, c);
}

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RULE OF THE BRACES {}

 In the example above, when such a for statement is written without

braces, the compiler would interpret that such a for loop has only one
statement in it.
 As such, the first statement that follows it would be considered as a part of
it.

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RULE OF THE BRACES {}

 Another example:  Can be written as:

for(int c=1; c<10; c*=2) for(int c=1; c<10; c*=2)
{ printf(“%d\t”, c);
printf(“%d\t”, c); printf(“\nDone” );
}
printf(“\nDone” );

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RULE OF THE BRACES {}

▪ In the second example above, based on the understanding of this rule, it

is obvious that the statement printf(“\nDone” ); is not a part of the for
loop and as such would not be looped when the condition is satisfied.
▪ We would apply this rule again when we see how compound statements
are nested

COE 281: Programming and Problem-Solving 62

NESTED STATEMENTS

 A nested statement is simply a compound statement in another

compound statement.
 As stated earlier, compound statements are statements which are usually
followed by braces (eg. Functions, loops and decision statements)

C PROGRAMMING - NESTED STATEMENTS 63

NESTED STATEMENTS

 So whenever we have a compound statement in another compound

statement, we describe the inner statement as a nested statement.

C PROGRAMMING - NESTED STATEMENTS 64

NESTED STATEMENTS - EXAMPLE
int x=10, y=0;
while(x<15)
{
if(x%2 == 0)
{ y +=x; }
else
{ y--; }
printf(“%d\t”, y);
x++;
}
C PROGRAMMING - NESTED STATEMENTS 65
NESTED STATEMENTS

 In the example, we can see that an if-else compound statement has been
placed inside a while compound statement.
 As such the if-else statement can be described as a nested statement.
 The if-else statement can only be executed when the while condition is
true.
 The example above would result in

10 9 21 20 34
C PROGRAMMING - NESTED STATEMENTS 66
NESTED STATEMENTS

 From the previous example it is obvious that the if and else portions of the
code have only one statement as such the rule of the braces can be once
again applied to ignore the braces for them.
 This is depicted in the next slide.

C PROGRAMMING - NESTED STATEMENTS 67

NESTED STATEMENTS - EXAMPLE
int x=10, y=0;
while(x<15)
{
if(x%2 == 0)
y +=x;
else
y--;
printf(“%d\t”, y);
x++;
}
C PROGRAMMING - NESTED STATEMENTS 68
NESTED STATEMENTS

 Juxtapose the two and see if you can reckon the application of the rule of
braces.

C PROGRAMMING - NESTED STATEMENTS 69

 THE END
ANY QUESTION S ?

Contact: [email protected]
Office: Caesar Building, Room 413

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