CE143: COMPUTER CONCEPTS & PROGRAMMING

Chapter – 6

Looping

Devang Patel Institute of Advance Technology and Research

Objectives

 To learn about repetition (looping) control

structures, i.e. while, for and do…while
 To Examine break and continue statements
 To discover how to form and use nested control
structures

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Introduction
In this chapter, we will discuss
 Need of looping

 (pre-test) entry-controlled loop: while, for, (post-test) exit-

controlled loop: do…while, difference

 Use of sentinel values.

 Nesting of looping statements

 use of break & continue

 use of if…else in loop

 infinite loop.

Chapter – 6 : Looping
 Need of Looping
 Allow you to efficiently use variables
 It can input, add, and average multiple numbers using a
limited number of variables
 Example:
Add Five Numbers

Declare a variable for Create a loop that reads a

each number, input the number into a variable
numbers and add the and adds it to a variable
variables together that contains the sum of
the numbers

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Loop Control Structures

 Depending on the position of the control

statement in the loop, a control structure
may be classified into two categories.

Loop Structure

Entry Controlled Exit Controlled

Loop Loop

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Loop Control Structures
Entry Controlled Loop Exit Controlled Loop

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Loop Control Structures

 A looping process, would include the

following steps.
1. Setting and initialization of a condition variable

2. Execution of the statements in the loop

3. Test for a specified value of the condition variable

for execution of the loop.

4. Incrementing or updating the condition variable

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Loop Control Structures

Loops

while for do..while

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Entry Controlled Loop-while loop
 The while loop is the simplest looping structure

 If we have to execute some statements repeatedly as long as certain condition

become true we can use the while loop.

 In the while loop ,the given expression will be check at the time of the loop entry,
if given expression becomes true then control will transfer into the loop body.

 The statement inside the loop body will be executed.

 The counter value will be modified and again given expression will be checked to
enter in to the loop.

 This process will continue until the given expression become false.

 The while loop contains only expression part ,initialization will be done before
the while loop

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Entry Controlled Loop-while loop

Syntax Example

while(condition) while( i <= 10)

{ {
printf("\n Value of I is %d", i) ;
//loop body i++ ; // modify counter value
} }

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Entry Controlled Loop-while loop
/* program to print multiplication table using while loop. */
void main()
{
int n, i, ans;
clrscr();

printf("\n Enter No. to print Table : ");

scanf("%d", &n);

i=1; // set counter value to 1

while( i <= 10)

{
ans = n * i;
printf("\n %d * %d = %d", n,i, ans) ;

i++ ; // modify counter value

}
getch();
}
Chapter – 6 : Looping
Entry Controlled Loop-while loop

The While Statement :

Example :

int a =1 ;
While (a <=5) // 1<=5 stands true
{
printf(“%d ”,a); // print 1
a++; // a=2
}
Output : 1 2 3 4 5

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Entry Controlled Loop-for loop

The For Statement :

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Entry Controlled Loop-for loop

 for-loops are counter-controlled, meaning that they are

normally used whenever the number of iterations is known
in advance.

 where again the body can be either a single statement or a

block of statements within { curly braces }.

 For loop is the most powerful and flexible looping structure.

 We can perform any complex task using for loop.

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Entry Controlled Loop-for loop
Syntax
for ( initialization ; condition ; inc/dec)
{
// loop body
}

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Entry Controlled Loop-for loop
 For loop contains three different parts: initialization, condition
and inc/dec part.

 When the loop executes for the first time, initialization of the
counter variable will be done after that expression given into the
condition part is tested, if test expression evaluate to true, control
will enter into the loop body.

 The statements inside the loop will be executed.

 After that control will transfer to the third part where counter
value will be either incremented or decremented.

 With the modified counter value test expression will be check again
to enter into the loop.
Chapter – 6 : Looping
Entry Controlled Loop-for loop
 This process will be repeated until condition becomes false.

 Once the condition becomes false, the loop will be skipped and
statement following by for loop will be executed.

 The initialization will be performed only once when loop encounters

first time.

 For loop also allows specify multiple condition as well as complex

expression to be tested.

 We can also skip any of the part of the loop as per our requirement.

 for loop can also be executed either in straight forward or in reverse

manner similar to while loop.

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Entry Controlled Loop-for loop

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Entry Controlled Loop-for loop
Example :

1 4
for(i=0;i<5;i++)
2
{
printf(“i= %d\n” , i); 3
}
printf(“After loop , i= %d\n” , i);

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Entry Controlled Loop-for loop
void main()
{
int n, i, ans;
clrscr();

printf("\n Enter No. to print Table : ");

scanf("%d", &n);

for( i = 1; i <=10 ; i++ )

{
ans = n * i;
printf("\n %d * %d = %d", n,i, ans) ;
}
getch();
}
Chapter – 6 : Looping
Entry Controlled Loop-for loop
Comparing for and while Loop

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Entry Controlled Loop-for loop

Note
A for loop is used when a loop is to be executed a known
number of times. We can do the same thing with a while
loop, but the for loop is easier to read and
more natural for counting loops.

Chapter – 6 : Looping
 Additional features of for loop
1. p=1;

for(n=0;n<17;++n) Multiple initialization

2. for(p=1,n=0;n<17;++n) Multiple initialization and

inc/dec
3. for(n=1,m=50;n<=m; n=n+1,m=m-1)

4. for i=1; i<20 && sum<100; ++i)

Complex conditions

5. for(x=(m+n)/2; x>0; x=x/2)

Multiple initialization
instead of inc/dec

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Additional features of for loop

6. m=5;
Initialization and inc/dec section can be
for(;m!=100;)
omitted. (Initialization can done before
{ the for statement and inc/dec can be done
inside the body loop)
printf(“%d\n”,m);
m=m+5;
}
7. for(j=1000;j>0;j=j-1) • Loop is executed 1000 times without producing any
output; it simply causes time delay.
; • Body of the loop contains only a semicolon, known as
null statement

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Exit Controlled Loop-do..while loop
 An Exit Control Loop checks
the condition for exit and if
given condition for exit evaluate
to true, control will exit from
the loop body else control will
enter again into the loop.

 Such type of loop controls exit

of the loop that’s why it is called
exit control loop.

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Exit Controlled Loop-do…while loop
 Do …while loop is an exit control loop.

 It is a variation of while loop.

 When we want to execute or perform some task at least for once,

we can use do…while loop structure.

 In a while loop if the expression becomes false at very first try

then loop will never be executed.

 Since, do…while is of type exit control loop it checks the condition

at last so, first time the loop will be execute unconditionally.

 If the condition for the exit becomes true then loop will be
terminate otherwise it will be executed for the next time.
Chapter – 6 : Looping
Exit Controlled Loop-do…while loop
Syntax

do
{
//loop body
} while (expression);

Example

do
{
printf("\n Value of I is %d", i) ;
i++ ; // modify counter value
} while( i <= 10);

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Exit Controlled Loop-do…while loop
Comparision of While and Do..While Loop :

int main()
{
bool a=true;

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Exit Controlled Loop-do..while loop
void main() switch(choice)
{ {
float x, y, ans; case 1:
int choice; ans = x + y;
break;
case 2:
do ans = x - y;
{ break;
case 3:
printf("\n1.Addition\n2.Subtractio ans = x * y;
n\n3.Multiplication\n4.Division\n break;
5.Exit); case 4:
printf("\nEter Your Choice:"); ans = x / y;
break;
scanf("%d", &choice);
case 5:
exit(0);
if(choice!=5) default:
{ printf("\n Invalid choice!");
printf("\n Enter X and Y: " ); }
printf("\n Answer is %.2f", ans );
scanf("%f %f", &x, &y);
getch();
} } while(choice!=5)
}

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Exit Controlled Loop-do…while loop
The Do… While Loop :
Example :
int main() Output
{
int a = 1 ;
do
{
printf ( "Hello World\n" ) ;
a ++ ;
} while ( a <= 10 ) ;
return 0;
}
Chapter – 6 : Looping
 WHILE LOOP DO…WHILE LOOP

It is an entry control loop. It is an exit control loop.

In while loop expression/condition is In do… while loop condition is checked at

checked at the time of entry. the time of exit.

It does not have semicolon (;) at the end of In do while loop semicolon (;) at the end of
the expression. the expression is compulsory.

Syntax:
do
while(condition)
{
{
// loop body
// loop body
} while(condition);
}

Example:
do
while(i<=5)
{
{
printf(“\n%d”,i);
printf(“\n%d”,i);
i++;
i++;
} while(i<=5) ;
}

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Use of sentinel values
Sentinel Value :
 A sentinel value (also referred to as a flag value, trip

value, rogue value, signal value, or dummy data) is a

special value in the context of an algorithm which uses its
presence as a condition of termination, typically in
a loop or recursive algorithm.
 Examples :

1. Null character for indicating the end of a null-terminated

string.
2. Null pointer for indicating the end of a linked list or a tree.
3. A negative integer for indicating the end of a sequence of
non-negative integers.

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Use of sentinel values
Sentinel Value :
Example :
printf(“Enter Count ( Or -1 to quit)”);
scanf(“%d”,count);
int max=count;
while(count != -1 )
{
if (count > max)
max=count;
printf(“Enter Count ( Or -1 to quit)”);
scanf(“%d”,count);
}

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Use of sentinel values
if (max > -1)
{
printf(“Maximum is : %d “ , max);
}
else
{
printf(“No Count Entered …”);
}

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Use of sentinel values
 Suppose you want to find the maximum of the data entered
from the keyboard.

 It is not known in advanced how many data values a user

might want to enter. (And the user may not want to count
them!)

 A sentinel is a special value that is used to detect a special

condition, in this case that the user is done entering values.

 The sentinel, of course, must be distinct from any value the

user may want to input.

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Nesting of looping statements
 A loop inside another loop is called a nested loop.
 The depth of nested loop depends on the complexity of a
problem.
 We can have any number of nested loops as required.
 Consider a nested loop where the outer loop runs n times
and consists of another loop inside it.
 The inner loop runs m times.
 Then, the total number of times the inner loop runs during
the program execution is n*m.

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Nesting of looping statements

Types of nested loops :

1. Nested while loop

2. Nested do-while loop

3. Nested for loop

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Nesting of looping statements
1. Nested while loop :
 A while loop inside another while loop is called nested while

loop.
 Syntax :

while (condition1)
{
statement(s);
while (condition2)
{
statement(s);
}
}

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Nesting of looping statements
1. Nested while loop :
 Example of Nested while loop : C program to print the

number pattern.
Output :

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Nesting of looping statements
 In this program, nested while loop is used to print the pattern.

 The outermost loop runs 5 times and for every loop, the
innermost loop runs i times which is 1 at first, meaning only "1"
is printed, then on the next loop it's 2 numbers printing "1 2"
and so on till 5 iterations of the loop executes, printing "1 2 3 4
5".

 This way, the given number pattern is printed.

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Nesting of looping statements
2. Nested do-while loop :
 A do-while loop inside another do-while loop is called

nested do-while loop.

 Syntax :

do
{
statement(s);
do {
statement(s);
}while (condition2);
}while (condition1);

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Nesting of looping statements
2. Nested do-while loop :
 Example : C program to print the given star pattern.

Output :

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Nesting of looping statements
 In this program, nested do-while loop is used to print the star
pattern.

 The outermost loop runs 5 times and for every loop, the
innermost loop runs i times which is 1 at first, meaning only
one "*" is printed, then on the next loop it's 2 printing two stars
and so on till 5 iterations of the loop executes, printing five
stars.

 This way, the given star pattern is printed.

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Nesting of looping statements
3. Nested for loop :
 A for loop inside another for loop is called nested for loop.

 Syntax :

for (initialization; condition; increment/decrement)

{
statement(s);
for (initialization; condition; increment/decrement)
{
statement(s);
}
}

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Nesting of looping statements
3. Nested for loop :

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Nesting of looping statements
3. Nested for loop :
 Example : C program to print all the composite numbers

from 2 to a certain number entered by user.

Output :

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Nesting of looping statements
 A number is said to be composite if it has at least one factor
other than 1 and itself.

 This program prints all the composite numbers starting

from 2 to a certain number n, entered by user.

 We need to use a nested loop to solve this problem.

 The outer for loop runs from 2 to n and the inner loop is
used to determine whether a number is composite or not.

 We need to check for that factor starting from 2 to integer

part of square root of that number.

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Nesting of looping statements

Note
There can be mixed type of nested loop i.e. a for loop
inside a while loop, or a while loop inside a do-while loop.

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Use of Break & Continue
 It is sometimes desirable to skip some statements inside
the loop or terminate the loop immediately without
checking the test expression.

 In such cases, break and continue statements are used.

break Statement ::
 The break statement terminates the loop (for, while and

do...while loop) immediately when it is encountered. The

break statement is used with decision making statement
such as if...else.
 Syntax :

break;

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Use of Break & Continue
 Flowchart of break statement

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Use of Break & Continue
Example :
int main()
{
int i;
for(i=0; i<10; i++)
{
if(i==5)
{
printf("\n Coming out of loop when i=5 \n");
break;
}
printf("%d", i);
}
return 0;
}

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Use of Break & Continue
 Output using break; statement :
01234
Coming out of loop when i= 5

 And if we omitted break; statement , the output will be like :

01234
Coming out of loop when i= 5
56789

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Use of Break & Continue
Continue Statement ::
 In C Programs, if we want to take control to the beginning of the loop, by
passing the statements inside the loop, which have not yet been executed, in
this case we use continue.
 continue is reserved keyword in C.
 When continue is encountered inside any loop, control automatically passes
to the beginning of loop.
 Syntax :
continue;

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Use of Break & Continue
 Flowchart of continue statement

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Use of Break & Continue
 Example :
int main()
{
int i;
for(i=0; i<10; i++)
{
if(i==5)
{
printf("\nSkipping %d from display using continue \n", i");
continue;
}
printf("%d", i);
}
return 0;
}

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Use of Break & Continue
 Output using continue; statement :

01234

Skipping 5 from display using continue

6789

 When the value of i equals to 5, the continue statement

takes the control to if statement by passing the value
when i==5 inside for loop.

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Use of if…else in loop
 It is also possible that we could use if..else statement in loop as and when
required.
 Example :
#include<stdio.h>
int main()
{
int i = 1; // keep looping
while (i < 100)
{
// if i is even
if(i % 2 == 0)
{
printf("%d ", i);
}
i++; // increment the number
}
return 0;
}
Chapter – 6 : Looping
Use of if…else in loop
 We have declared a variable i and initialized it to 1.

 First, the condition (i < 100) is checked, if it is true.

 Control is transferred inside the body of the while loop. Inside the body of the
loop, if condition (i % 2 == 0) is checked, if it is true then the statement inside
the if block is executed.

 Then the value of i is incremented using expression i++. As there are no more
statements left to execute inside the body of the while loop, this completes the
first iteration.

 Again the condition (i < 100) is checked, if it is still true then once again the
body of the loop is executed.

 This process repeats as long as the value of i is less than 100.

When i reaches 100, the loop terminates and control comes out of the while
loop. Chapter – 6 : Looping
Infinite loop
 There may exist some loops that can iterate or occur infinitely.

 These are called Infinite Loop.

 These loops occur infinitely because their condition is always true.

 We can make an infinite loop by leaving its conditional expression empty. When
the conditional expression is empty, it is assumed to be true.

 Example :
#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
for(;;)
{
printf("This is not gonna end!\n");
}
return 0;
}

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Infinite loop
 More Example :

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Infinite loop

Note
To terminate an infinite loop, press Ctrl + C.

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Previous year Questions
Fill in the Blanks :
1. In a do … while loop , if the body of the loop is executed n times , the test
condition is evaluated _____________ times .

2. The _____________ statement is used to skip statement in a loop.

3. A loop that always satisfies the test condition is known as _______________ loop.

4. In ___________ loop , the entry is automatic and there is only a choice to

continue it further or not.

5. When we do not know in advance the number of times the loop will be
executed , we use a ________ loop.

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Previous year Questions
State True or False :
1. In a while loop , if the body is executed n times , the test condition is
executed (n+1) times .

2. It is necessary to have initialization, testing ,and updating expression within

the for statement

3. The loop control variable may be updated before or after the loop iterates.

4. The for and do. While loop are the post test loops.

5. When we place a semi colon after the for statement , the compiler will
generate an error message .

Chapter – 6 : Looping
Previous year Questions
Questions :
1. How is comma operator useful in a for loop? Explain with the help of
relevant example?

2. Give the points of similarity and difference between a while loop and
do..while loop .

3. Differentiate between the break and the continue statement.

4. In what situations will you prefer to use for , while and do..while loop?

Chapter – 6 : Looping