Sum of array Elements without using loops and recursion
Last Updated :
11 Jul, 2025
Given an array of N elements, the task is to find the Sum of N elements without using loops(for, while & doWhile) and recursion.
Examples:
Input: arr[]={1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
Output: 15
Input: arr[]={10, 20, 30}
Output: 60
j
Approach: Unconditional Jump Statements can be used to solve this problem.
Unconditional Jump Statements:
Jump statements interrupt the sequential execution of statements, so that execution continues at a different point in the program. A jump destroys automatic variables if the jump destination is outside their scope. There are four statements that cause unconditional jumps in C: break, continue, goto, and return.
To solve this particular problem, goto statement can be useful.
goto Statement:
The goto statement is a jump statement which is sometimes also referred to as unconditional jump statement. The goto statement can be used to jump from anywhere to anywhere within a function.
Syntax:
Syntax1 | Syntax2
----------------------------
goto label; | label:
. | .
. | .
. | .
label: | goto label;
In the above syntax, the first line tells the compiler to go to or jump to the statement marked as a label. Here label is a user-defined identifier which indicates the target statement. The statement immediately followed after 'label:' is the destination statement. The 'label:' can also appear before the 'goto label;' statement in the above syntax.

Below is the implementation of the above approach:
C++
// C++ program to find the sum of
// N elements with goto statement
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
// Function to perform desired operation
int operate(int array[], int N)
{
int sum = 0, index = 0;
label:
sum += array[index++];
if (index < N) {
// backward jump of goto statement
goto label;
}
// return the sum
return sum;
}
// Driver Code
int main()
{
// Get N
int N = 5, sum = 0;
// Input values of an array
int array[] = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 };
// Find the sum
sum = operate(array, N);
// Print the sum
cout << sum;
}
C
// C program to find the sum of
// N elements with goto statement
#include <stdio.h>
// Function to perform desired operation
int operate(int array[], int N)
{
int sum = 0, index = 0;
label:
sum += array[index++];
if (index < N) {
// backward jump of goto statement
goto label;
}
// return the sum
return sum;
}
// Driver Code
int main()
{
// Get N
int N = 5, sum = 0;
// Input values of an array
int array[] = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 };
// Find the sum
sum = operate(array, N);
// Print the sum
printf("%d", sum);
}
Java
// Java program to find the sum of
// N elements
class GFG
{
// Function to perform desired operation
static int operate(int array[], int N)
{
int sum = 0, index = 0;
while(true)
{
sum += array[index++];
if (index < N)
{
// backward jump of goto statement
continue;
}
else
{
break;
}
}
// return the sum
return sum;
}
// Driver code
public static void main(String[] args)
{
// Get N
int N = 5, sum = 0;
// Input values of an array
int array[] = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 };
// Find the sum
sum = operate(array, N);
// Print the sum
System.out.print(sum);
}
}
// This code is contributed by divyeshrabaiya07
Python3
# Python3 program to find the sum of
# N elements
# Function to perform desired operation
def operate(array, N) :
Sum, index = 0, 0
while(True) :
Sum += array[index]
index += 1
if index < N :
# backward jump of goto statement
continue
else :
break
# return the sum
return Sum
# Get N
N, Sum = 5, 0
# Input values of an array
array = [ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ]
# Find the sum
Sum = operate(array, N)
# Print the sum
print(Sum)
# This code is contributed by divyesh072019
C#
// C# program to find the sum of
// N elements with goto statement
using System;
class GFG
{
// Function to perform desired operation
static int operate(int[] array, int N)
{
int sum = 0, index = 0;
label:
sum += array[index++];
if (index < N)
{
// backward jump of goto statement
goto label;
}
// return the sum
return sum;
}
// Driver Code
public static void Main()
{
// Get N
int N = 5, sum = 0;
// Input values of an array
int[] array = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 };
// Find the sum
sum = operate(array, N);
// Print the sum
Console.Write(sum);
}
}
// This code is contributed
// by Akanksha Rai
PHP
<?php
// PHP program to find the sum of N
// elements with goto statement
function operate($array, $N)
{
$sum = 0;
$index = 0;
label:
$sum += $array[$index++];
if($index < $N)
{
// backward jump of goto statement
goto label;
}
// return the sum
return $sum;
}
// Driver code
$N = 5;
$array = array(1, 2, 3, 4, 5);
echo operate($array, $N);
// This code is contributed
// by Mohit kumar 29
?>
JavaScript
<script>
// Javascript program to find the sum of
// N elements
// Function to perform desired operation
function operate(array, N)
{
let sum = 0, index = 0;
while(true)
{
sum += array[index++];
if (index < N)
{
// backward jump of goto statement
continue;
}
else
{
break;
}
}
// return the sum
return sum;
}
// Get N
let N = 5, sum = 0;
// Input values of an array
let array = [ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ];
// Find the sum
sum = operate(array, N);
// Print the sum
document.write(sum);
// This code is contributed by suresh07.
</script>
Time complexity: O(N) where N is size of given array
Auxiliary space: O(1)
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