Introduction to C Programming

Iterative Constructs
 Topic & Structure of Lesson

• Iterative Structures
 while statement
 do-while statement
 for statement

• The break and continue Statements

• Nested Loops

CT018-3-1 Introduction To C Programming Iterative Construct Slide 2 (of 28)

 Learning Outcomes

If you have mastered this topic, you should be able

to use the following terms correctly in your
assignments :

Dowhile loop
While loop
For loop
counter-controlled loop
sentinel-controlled
Continue

CT018-3-1 Introduction To C Programming Iterative Construct

 Iterative Constructs

• An iterative construct or loop is a group of

instructions which is repeatedly executed while
some condition remains true.

• An infinite loop loops forever and must be

avoided.

• Three loops constructs: while, for and do-while

• Two kinds of control within a loop: counter-

controlled loop and sentinel-controlled loop.
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 while statement

•The while statement is a pre-test condition

controlled loop construct.

• It has the form,

while (expression) condition
T
action
{ statements }
F

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 Example-1

count_star = 0;
while (count_star < N){
printf(”*”);
count_star++; }
  (or)
count_star = 0;
while (count_star++ < N)
printf(”*”);

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 Example-2

int num = 1; /*declaration and*/

int total = 0; /*initialization*/
  while (num <= 100)
{
total += num;
num++;
}

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 Counter controlled vs.
Sentinel controlled

Use Counter-control loops when the

number of iterations are known.

Sentinel control loops are more general.

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 Counter controlled loop
Example:
#define N 10
. . .
total = 0;
count = 1;
while (count <= N) {
printf (”Enter score: ”);
scanf (”%d”, &score);
total += score;}
count++;
}
avg = (float) total / N;
printf(”Average is %.2f\n”,avg);

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 Sentinel controlled loop
#define SENTINEL -1
. . .
total = 0;
count = 0;
printf(”Enter score, -1 to end: ”);
scanf (”%d”, &score);
while (score != SENTINEL) {
total += score; count++;
printf(”Enter score, -1 to end: ”);
scanf (”%d”, &score);
}
if (count) {
avg = (float) total/count;
printf(”Average is %.2f\n”, avg);
}else
printf(”No scores were entered\n”);

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 do-while statement
• The do-while statement is a post-test condition
control loop structure.
• The loop body is executed at least once.
• The general form of the do-while is,
do{ action
statements
T
} while(loop condition); condition

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 do-while Examples
•Example 1 :-
count = 1;
do {
printf (”%d ”, count);
} while (++count <= 10);
•Example 2:-
do {
printf(“Enter a letter A thru E”);
scanf(“%c”,&letter);}
while(letter< ‘A’ || letter >’E’);

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 for statement

• The for statement is another pre-test condition-

control loop structure.
• It provides a more compact form for counter-
controlled loops.
• The general form is,
for (initialization expression;
loop condition; update expression)
{ statements; }

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 for statement

Initial value

condition T statements Increment

F

Example:
for (count_star = 0; /* init */
count_star < N; /* condition */
count_star++) /* update */
printf (”*”);

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 break and continue statements

• The break and continue statements are used to

alter the flow of a control.

• The break statement in a while, do-while or for

structure causes immediate exit from the
structure.

• The continue statement in a while, do-while and

for structure skips the remaining statements in the
body, to the next iteration of the loop.
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 Break - Example

/*Using the break in the for stt.*/

main()
{ int x;
OUTPUT:
for(x=1;x<=10;x++){ 1234
if (x == 5) Broke out of loop at 5
break;
printf(%d”,x);}
printf(“\nBroke out of loop at x=
%d”,x);
}

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 Continue - Example

/*Using continue in a for structure*/

main()
{ int x; OUTPUT:
1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10
for(x=1;x<=10;x++){ Used continue to skip printing
if ( x == 5) the value 5
continue;
printf(“%d”,x);
}
printf(“\n Used continue to”);
printf(“skip printing the value 5”);
}
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 Nested Loops

• A loop body may contain statements of any kind

including other loops.
• A loop that contains another loop is called a
nested loop.

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 Example
#include<stdio.h>
main(){
int side, temp, asterisk;//asterisk generally refers to
the symbol *
printf("Enter the square side: ");
scanf("%d", &side);
temp = side;
while (side-- > 0) {//controls the number of lines
printed
asterisk = temp;
while (asterisk-- > 0){//controls the number of
character printed on a line
printf("*"); OUTPUT:
} Enter the square side: 3
***
putchar('\n'); }}
***
***
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 Summary
• An iterative construct specifies that an action is to be
repeated while some condition remains true.
• The iterative statements are while, do-while and for.
• Counter-controlled looping uses a variable as a
counter to determine when a loop should terminate.
• Sentinel values are generally used to control repetition
when the precise number of repetitions is not known
in advance and the loop includes statements that
obtain data each time the loop is performed.

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 Summary

• The break statement, when executed in one

of the iterative structures (while, do-while, for)
causes immediate exit from the structure.
• The continue statement, skips any remaining
statements in the body of the structure, and
proceeds with the next iteration of the loop.
• Loops that contain other loops are called
nested loops.

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