SWE 2314

Control Structures II: Repetition

 Read Malik, Chapter 5.

 Chapter 5:
Control Structures II (Repetition)
 Why Is Repetition Needed?
• Repetition allows efficient use of variables.
• Can input, add, and average multiple numbers
using a limited number of variables.
• For example, to add five numbers:
– Declare a variable for each number, input the
numbers and add the variables together.
– Create a loop that reads a number into a variable
and adds it to a variable that contains the sum of
the numbers.
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 while Loop
• Syntax of the while statement:

• statement can be simple or compound.

• expression acts as a decision maker and is
usually a logical expression.
• statement is called the body of the loop.
• The parentheses are part of the syntax.

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 while Loop (cont’d.)

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 while Loop (cont’d.)

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 while Loop (cont’d.)
• The variable i in Example 5-1 is called the
loop control variable (LCV).
• Infinite loop: continues to execute endlessly.
Infinite loops are generally undesirable.
– They’re avoided by including statements in the
loop body that assure the exit condition is
eventually false.

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 while Loop (cont’d.)

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 Case 1: Counter-Controlled while
Loops
• Use a counter-controlled while loop when
you know exactly how many times the
statements need to be executed.

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 Case 2: Sentinel-Controlled while
Loops
• In a sentinel-controlled while loop, the
condition checks to see whether a variable is
equal to a special value called the sentinel
value.

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 Example 5-5: Telephone Digits
• Example 5-5 provides an example of a
sentinel-controlled loop.
• The program converts uppercase letters to
their corresponding telephone digit.

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 Case 3: Flag-Controlled while Loops
• Flag-controlled while loop: uses a bool
variable to control the loop.

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 Number Guessing Game
• Example 5-6 implements a number guessing
game using a flag-controlled while loop.
• It uses the function rand of the header file
cstdlib to generate a random number.
– rand() returns an int value between 0 and
32767
– To convert to an integer >= 0 and < 100:
• rand() % 100

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 Case 4: EOF-Controlled while Loops
• End-of-file (EOF)-controlled while loop:
when it is difficult to select a sentinel value.
• The logical value returned by cin can
determine if there is no more input.

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 Case 4: EOF-Controlled while Loops
(cont’d.)

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 eof Function
• The function eof can determine the end of
file status.
• eof is a member of data type istream.
• Syntax for the function eof:

where istreamVar is an input stream

variable, such as cin.

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 More on Expressions in while
Statements
• The expression in a while statement can be
complex
– Example:
while ((noOfGuesses < 5) && (!isGuessed))
{
. . .
}

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 Programming Example: Fibonacci
Number
• Consider the following sequence of numbers:
– 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, ....
• This is called a Fibonacci sequence.
• Given the first two numbers of the sequence
(say, a1 and a2)
– nth number an, n >= 3, of this sequence is given by:
an = an-1 + an-2

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 Programming Example: Fibonacci
Number (cont’d.)
• Fibonacci sequence
– nth Fibonacci number
– a2 = 1
– a1 = 1
– Determine the nth number an, n >= 3

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 Programming Example: Fibonacci
Number (cont’d.)
• Suppose a2 = 6 and a1 = 3
– a3 = a 2 + a 1 = 6 + 3 = 9
– a4 = a3 + a2 = 9 + 6 = 15
• Write a program that determines the nth
Fibonacci number, given the first two
numbers.

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 Programming Example: Input and
Output
• Input: first two Fibonacci numbers and the
desired Fibonacci number.
• Output: nth Fibonacci number.

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 Programming Example: Problem
Analysis and Algorithm Design
• Algorithm:
– Get the first two Fibonacci numbers.
– Get the position, n, of the desired number in the
sequence.
– Calculate the next Fibonacci number.
• Add the previous two elements of the sequence.
– Repeat Step 3 until the nth Fibonacci number is
found.
– Output the nth Fibonacci number.

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 Programming Example: Variables

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 Programming Example: Main
Algorithm
• Prompt the user for the first two numbers—
that is, previous1 and previous2.
• Read (input) the first two numbers into
previous1 and previous2.
• Output the first two Fibonacci numbers.
• Prompt the user for the position of the desired
Fibonacci number.

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 Programming Example: Main
Algorithm (cont’d.)
• Read the position of the desired Fibonacci
number into nthFibonacci.
– if (nthFibonacci == 1)
The desired Fibonacci number is the first Fibonacci
number; copy the value of previous1 into
current.
– else if (nthFibonacci == 2)
The desired Fibonacci number is the second
Fibonacci number; copy the value of previous2
into current.
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 Programming Example: Main
Algorithm (cont’d.)
– else calculate the desired Fibonacci number as
follows:
• Initialize counter to 3 to keep track of which
Fibonacci numbers we’re currently calculating.
• Calculate the next Fibonacci number, as follows:
current = previous2 + previous1;
• Assign the value of previous2 to previous1.
• Assign the value of current to previous2.
• Increment counter.
• Repeat until Fibonacci number is calculated.

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 Programming Example: Main
Algorithm (cont’d.)
– Here’s the code that implements the algorithm’s
loop.

while (counter <= nthFibonacci)

{
current = previous2 + previous1;
previous1 = previous2;
previous2 = current;
counter++;
}

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 Programming Example: Main
Algorithm (cont’d.)
• Output the nthFibonacci number, which
is current.

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 for Loop
• for loop: also called a counted loop.
• Syntax of the for statement:

• The initial statement, loop

condition, and update statement are
called for loop control statements.

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 for Loop (cont’d.)

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 for Loop (cont’d.)

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 for Loop (cont’d.)

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 for Loop (cont’d.)
• The following is a legal (but infinite) for loop:
for (;;)
cout << "Hello" << endl;

• The following is a semantic error:

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 for Loop (cont’d.)

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 for Loop (cont’d.)

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 do…while Loop
• Syntax of a do...while loop:

• The statement executes first, and then the

expression is evaluated.
– As long as expression is true, loop continues.
• To avoid an infinite loop, body must contain a
statement that makes the expression false.
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 do…while Loop (cont’d.)
• The statement can be simple or compound.
• Loop always iterates at least once.

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 do…while Loop (cont’d.)

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 do…while Loop (cont’d.)

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 do…while Loop (cont’d.)

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 Choosing the Right Kind of Loop
• All three loops have their place in C++.
– If you can determine in advance the number of
repetitions needed, the for loop is the best
choice.
– If you do not know and cannot determine in
advance the number of repetitions needed, and it
could be zero, use a while loop.
– If you do not know and cannot determine in
advance the number of repetitions needed, and it
is at least one, use a do...while loop.
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 break and continue Statements
• break and continue alter the flow of
control.
• break statement is used for two purposes:
– To exit early from a loop.
• Can eliminate the use of certain (flag) variables.
– To skip the remainder of a switch structure.
• After break executes, the program continues
with the first statement after the structure.

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 break and continue Statements
(cont’d.)
• continue is used in while, for, and do…
while structures.
• When executed in a loop, it skips the
remaining statements in the loop and
proceeds with the loop’s next iteration.

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 Nested Loops
• To create the following pattern:
*
**
***
****
*****

• We can use the following code:

for (i = 1; i <= 5 ; i++)
{
for (j = 1; j <= i; j++)
cout << "*";
cout << endl;
}

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 Nested Loops (cont’d.)
• What is the result if we replace the first for
statement with this?
for (i = 5; i >= 1; i--)
• Answer:
*****
****
***
**
*

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 Avoiding Bugs by Avoiding Patches
• Software patch
– Piece of code written on top of an existing piece of
code
– Intended to fix a bug in the original code
• Some programmers address the symptom of
the problem by adding a software patch.
• Should instead resolve underlying issue.

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 Debugging Loops
• Loops are harder to debug than sequence and
selection structures.
• Use loop invariant
– Set of statements that remains true each time the
loop body is executed
• Most common error associated with loops is
off-by-one.

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