Lecture Notes -6

Loops in C
Loops in programming come into use when we need to repeatedly execute a
block of statements. For example: Suppose we want to print “Hello World” 10
times. This can be done in two ways as shown below:
Iterative Method

An iterative method to do this is to write the printf() statement 10 times.

// C program to illustrate need of loops

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
printf( "Hello World\n");
printf( "Hello World\n");
printf( "Hello World\n");
printf( "Hello World\n");
printf( "Hello World\n");
printf( "Hello World\n");
printf( "Hello World\n");
printf( "Hello World\n");
printf( "Hello World\n");
printf( "Hello World\n");

return 0;
}

Output:

Hello World
Hello World
Hello World
Hello World
Hello World
Hello World
Hello World
Hello World
Hello World
Hello World
Using Loops
In Loop, the statement needs to be written only once and the loop will be
executed 10 times as shown below.
In computer programming, a loop is a sequence of instructions that is
repeated until a certain condition is reached.
 An operation is done, such as getting an item of data and changing
it, and then some condition is checked such as whether a counter
has reached a prescribed number.
 Counter not Reached: If the counter has not reached the desired
number, the next instruction in the sequence returns to the first
instruction in the sequence and repeat it.
 Counter reached: If the condition has been reached, the next
instruction “falls through” to the next sequential instruction or
branches outside the loop.
There are mainly two types of loops:
1. Entry Controlled loops: In this type of loops the test condition is
tested before entering the loop body. For Loop and While
Loop are entry controlled loops.
2. Exit Controlled Loops: In this type of loops the test condition is
tested or evaluated at the end of loop body. Therefore, the loop
body will execute atleast once, irrespective of whether the test
condition is true or false. do – while loop is exit controlled loop.

for Loop
A for loop is a repetition control structure which allows us to write a loop that
is executed a specific number of times. The loop enables us to perform n
number of steps together in one line.
Syntax:
for (initialization expr; test expr; update expr)
{
// body of the loop
 // statements we want to execute
}
In for loop, a loop variable is used to control the loop. First initialize this loop
variable to some value, then check whether this variable is less than or
greater than counter value. If statement is true, then loop body is executed
and loop variable gets updated . Steps are repeated till exit condition comes.
 Initialization Expression: In this expression we have to initialize
the loop counter to some value. for example: int i=1;
 Test Expression: In this expression we have to test the condition.
If the condition evaluates to true then we will execute the body of
loop and go to update expression otherwise we will exit from the for
loop. For example: i <= 10;
 Update Expression: After executing loop body this expression
increments/decrements the loop variable by some value. for
example: i++;
Equivalent flow diagram for loop :
  Example:

// C program to illustrate for loop

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
int i=0;

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

{
printf( "Hello World\n");
}
 return 0;
}

Output:
Hello World
Hello World
Hello World
Hello World
Hello World
Hello World
Hello World
Hello World
Hello World
Hello World

While Loop
While studying for loop we have seen that the number of iterations is known
beforehand, i.e. the number of times the loop body is needed to be executed
is known to us. while loops are used in situations where we do not know the
exact number of iterations of loop beforehand. The loop execution is
terminated on the basis of test condition.
Syntax:
We have already stated that a loop is mainly consisted of three statements –
initialization expression, test expression, update expression. The syntax of
the three loops – For, while and do while mainly differs on the placement of
these three statements.
initialization expression;
while (test_expression)
{
// statements

update_expression;
}
Flow Diagram:
Example:
// C program to illustrate while loop
#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
// initialization expression
int i = 1;

// test expression
while (i < 6)
{
printf( "Hello World\n");

// update expression
i++;
}

return 0;
}
Output:
Hello World
Hello World
Hello World
Hello World
Hello World
do while loop

In do while loops also the loop execution is terminated on the basis of test
condition. The main difference between do while loop and while loop is in do
while loop the condition is tested at the end of loop body, i.e do while loop is
exit controlled whereas the other two loops are entry controlled loops.
Note: In do while loop the loop body will execute at least once irrespective of
test condition.
Syntax:
initialization expression;
do
{
// statements

update_expression;
} while (test_expression);
Note: Notice the semi – colon(“;”) in the end of loop.
Flow Diagram:
Example:
// C program to illustrate do-while loop
#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
int i = 2; // Initialization expression

do
{
// loop body
printf( "Hello World\n");

// update expression
i++;

} while (i < 1); // test expression

return 0;
}
Output:
Hello World
In the above program the test condition (i<1) evaluates to false. But still as
the loop is exit – controlled the loop body will execute once.
What about an Infinite Loop?
An infinite loop (sometimes called an endless loop ) is a piece of coding that
lacks a functional exit so that it repeats indefinitely. An infinite loop occurs
when a condition always evaluates to true. Usually, this is an error.

// C program to demonstrate infinite loops

// using for and while
// Uncomment the sections to see the output

#include <stdio.h>

int main ()
{
int i;

// This is an infinite for loop as the condition

// expression is blank
for ( ; ; )
{
printf("This loop will run forever.\n");
}

// This is an infinite for loop as the condition

// given in while loop will keep repeating infinitely
/*
while (i != 0)
{
i-- ;
printf( "This loop will run forever.\n");
}
*/

// This is an infinite for loop as the condition

// given in while loop is "true"
/*
while (true)
{
printf( "This loop will run forever.\n");
}
*/
}
Output:
This loop will run forever.
This loop will run forever.
...................
Important Points:
 Use for loop when number of iterations is known beforehand, i.e.
the number of times the loop body is needed to be executed is
known.
 Use while loops where exact number of iterations is not known but
the loop termination condition is known.
 Use do while loop if the code needs to be executed at least once
like in Menu driven programs