Chapter 4 Loops

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eighth Edition, (c) 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 0132130807
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 Motivations
Suppose that you need to print a string (e.g.,
"Welcome to Java!") a hundred times. It would be
tedious to have to write the following statement a
hundred times:

System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");

So, how do you solve this problem?

2
 Opening Problem
Problem:

System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
100
times …
…
…
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
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 Introducing while Loops
int count = 0;
while (count < 100) {
System.out.println("Welcome to Java");
count++;
}

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 while Loop Flow Chart
int count = 0;
while (loop-continuation-condition) {
while (count < 100) {
// loop-body;
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
Statement(s);
count++;
} }
count = 0;

Loop
false false
Continuation (count < 100)?
Condition?

true true
Statement(s) System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
(loop body) count++;

(A) (B)

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animation

Trace while Loop

Initialize count
int count = 0;
while (count < 2) {
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
count++;
}

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animation

Trace while Loop, cont.

(count < 2) is true
int count = 0;
while (count < 2) {
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
count++;
}

7
animation

Trace while Loop, cont.

Print Welcome to Java
int count = 0;
while (count < 2) {
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
count++;
}

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animation

Trace while Loop, cont.

Increase count by 1
int count = 0; count is 1 now

while (count < 2) {

System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
count++;
}

9
animation

Trace while Loop, cont.

(count < 2) is still true since count
int count = 0; is 1

while (count < 2) {

System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
count++;
}

10
animation

Trace while Loop, cont.

Print Welcome to Java
int count = 0;
while (count < 2) {
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
count++;
}

11
animation

Trace while Loop, cont.

Increase count by 1
int count = 0; count is 2 now

while (count < 2) {

System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
count++;
}

12
animation

Trace while Loop, cont.

(count < 2) is false since count is 2
int count = 0; now

while (count < 2) {

System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
count++;
}

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animation

Trace while Loop

The loop exits. Execute the next
int count = 0; statement after the loop.

while (count < 2) {

System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
count++;
}

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 Problem: Guessing Numbers
Write a program that randomly generates an
integer between 0 and 100, inclusive. The program
prompts the user to enter a number continuously
until the number matches the randomly generated
number. For each user input, the program tells the
user whether the input is too low or too high, so
the user can choose the next input intelligently.
Here is a sample run:
GuessNumberOneTime Run

GuessNumber Run
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Ending a Loop with a Sentinel Value
Often the number of times a loop is executed is not
predetermined. You may use an input value to
signify the end of the loop. Such a value is known
as a sentinel value.

Write a program that reads and calculates the sum

of an unspecified number of integers. The input 0
signifies the end of the input.

SentinelValue Run

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 Caution
Don’t use floating-point values for equality checking in a loop control.
Since floating-point values are approximations for some values, using
them could result in imprecise counter values and inaccurate results.
Consider the following code for computing 1 + 0.9 + 0.8 + ... + 0.1:

double item = 1; double sum = 0;

while (item != 0) { // No guarantee item will be 0
sum += item;
item -= 0.1;
}
System.out.println(sum);

Variable item starts with 1 and is reduced by 0.1 every time the loop body
is executed. The loop should terminate when item becomes 0. However,
there is no guarantee that item will be exactly 0, because the floating-
point arithmetic is approximated. This loop seems OK on the surface, but
it is actually an infinite loop.
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 do-while Loop

Statement(s)
(loop body)

true Loop
Continuation
do { Condition?

// Loop body; false

Statement(s);
} while (loop-continuation-condition);

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 for Loops
for (initial-action; loop- int i;
continuation-condition; for (i = 0; i < 100; i++) {
action-after-each-iteration) { System.out.println(
// loop body;
Statement(s); "Welcome to Java!");
} }

Initial-Action i=0

Loop
false false
Continuation (i < 100)?
Condition?
true true
Statement(s) System.out.println(
(loop body) "Welcome to Java");

Action-After-Each-Iteration i++

(A) (B)
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animation

Trace for Loop

Declare i
int i;
for (i = 0; i < 2; i++) {
System.out.println(
"Welcome to Java!");
}

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animation

Trace for Loop, cont.

Execute initializer
int i; i is now 0
for (i = 0; i < 2; i++) {
System.out.println(
"Welcome to Java!");
}

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animation

Trace for Loop, cont.

(i < 2) is true
int i; since i is 0
for (i = 0; i < 2; i++) {
System.out.println( "Welcome to Java!");
}

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animation

Trace for Loop, cont.

Print Welcome to Java
int i;
for (i = 0; i < 2; i++) {
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
}

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animation

Trace for Loop, cont.

Execute adjustment statement
int i; i now is 1
for (i = 0; i < 2; i++) {
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
}

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animation

Trace for Loop, cont.

(i < 2) is still true
int i; since i is 1
for (i = 0; i < 2; i++) {
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
}

25
animation

Trace for Loop, cont.

Print Welcome to Java
int i;
for (i = 0; i < 2; i++) {
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
}

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animation

Trace for Loop, cont.

Execute adjustment statement
int i; i now is 2
for (i = 0; i < 2; i++) {
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
}

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animation

Trace for Loop, cont.

(i < 2) is false
int i; since i is 2
for (i = 0; i < 2; i++) {
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
}

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animation

Trace for Loop, cont.

Exit the loop. Execute the next
int i; statement after the loop
for (i = 0; i < 2; i++) {
System.out.println("Welcome to Java!");
}

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 Note
The initial-action in a for loop can be a list of zero or more
comma-separated expressions. The action-after-each-
iteration in a for loop can be a list of zero or more comma-
separated statements. Therefore, the following two for
loops are correct. They are rarely used in practice,
however.
for (int i = 1; i < 100; System.out.println(i++));

for (int i = 0, j = 0; (i + j < 10); i++, j++) {

// Do something

}
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 Note
If the loop-continuation-condition in a for loop is omitted,
it is implicitly true. Thus the statement given below in (a),
which is an infinite loop, is correct. Nevertheless, it is
better to use the equivalent loop in (b) to avoid confusion:

for ( ; ; ) { Equivalent while (true) {

// Do something // Do something
} }
(a) (b)

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 Caution
Adding a semicolon at the end of the for clause before
the loop body is a common mistake, as shown below:
Logic
Error

for (int i=0; i<10; i++);

{
System.out.println("i is " + i);
}

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 Caution, cont.
Similarly, the following loop is also wrong:
int i=0;
while (i < 10); Logic Error
{
System.out.println("i is " + i);
i++;
}
In the case of the do loop, the following semicolon is
needed to end the loop.
int i=0;
do {
System.out.println("i is " + i);
i++;
} while (i<10);
Correct

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 Recommendations
Use the one that is most intuitive and comfortable for
you.
•In general, a for loop may be used if the number of repetitions is
known, as, for example, when you need to print a message 100
times.
•A while loop may be used if the number of repetitions is not
known, as in the case of reading the numbers until the input is 0.
•A do-while loop can be used to replace a while loop if the loop
body has to be executed before testing the continuation condition.

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 Nested Loops
Problem: Write a program that uses nested for
loops to print a multiplication table.

MultiplicationTable

Run

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 Problem:
Finding the Greatest Common Divisor
Problem: Write a program that prompts the user to enter two positive
integers and finds their greatest common divisor.
Solution: Suppose you enter two integers 4 and 2, their greatest
common divisor is 2. Suppose you enter two integers 16 and 24, their
greatest common divisor is 8. So, how do you find the greatest
common divisor? Let the two input integers be n1 and n2. You know
number 1 is a common divisor, but it may not be the greatest commons
divisor. So you can check whether k (for k = 2, 3, 4, and so on) is a
common divisor for n1 and n2, until k is greater than n1 or n2.

GreatestCommonDivisor Run
36
Problem: Predicating the Future Tuition
Problem: Suppose that the tuition for a university is $10,000 this year
and tuition increases 7% every year. In how many years will the
tuition be doubled?

FutureTuition Run
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Problem: Predicating the Future Tuition
double tuition = 10000; int year = 1 // Year 1
tuition = tuition * 1.07; year++; // Year 2
tuition = tuition * 1.07; year++; // Year 3
tuition = tuition * 1.07; year++; // Year 4
...

FutureTuition Run
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 Problem: Monte Carlo Simulation
The Monte Carlo simulation refers to a technique that uses random
numbers and probability to solve problems. This method has a wide
range of applications in computational mathematics, physics,
chemistry, and finance. This section gives an example of using the
Monto Carlo simulation for estimating .
y circleArea / squareArea =  / 4.
1

 can be approximated as 4 *
-1 1
x numberOfHits / 1000000.

-1 MonteCarloSimulation Run
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 Using break and continue
Examples for using the break and continue
keywords:

 TestBreak.java

TestBreak Run

 TestContinue.java

TestContinue Run

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 Guessing Number Problem Revisited

Here is a program for guessing a number. You can

rewrite it using a break statement.

GuessNumberUsingBreak Run

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 (GUI) Controlling a Loop with a
Confirmation Dialog
A sentinel-controlled loop can be implemented using a confirmation
dialog. The answers Yes or No to continue or terminate the loop. The
template of the loop may look as follows:

int option = 0;
while (option == JOptionPane.YES_OPTION) {
System.out.println("continue loop");
option = JOptionPane.showConfirmDialog(null, "Continue?");
}

SentinelValueUsingConfirmationDialog Run
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