Introduction to

Object-Oriented Programming

COMP2011: Program Flow Control

Prof. Andrew Horner

Dr. Cecia Chan
Dr. Cindy Li

Department of Computer Science & Engineering

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Hong Kong SAR, China

developed by Prof. Brian Mak

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Introduction

So far, our C++ program consists of only the main() function.

Inside main() is a sequence of statements, and all statements
are executed once and exactly once.
Such sequential computation can be a big limitation on what
can be computed. Therefore, we have
selection
iteration

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 Part I

You Have a Choice: if

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if Statement
Syntax: if Statement
if (<boolean expression>) <statement>
if (<boolean expression>) { <sequence of statements> }

boolean false Example: Absolute value |x| of x.

expression

true
int x;
cin >> x;

statements if (x < 0)
{
x = -x;
}

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Example: To Sort 2 Numbers
#include <iostream> /* File: swap.cpp */
using namespace std;

int main() /* To sort 2 numbers so that the 2nd one is larger */

{
int x, y; // The input numbers
int temp; // A dummy variable for manipulation

cout << "Enter two integers (separated by whitespaces): ";

cin >> x >> y;

if (x > y)
{
temp = x; // Save the original value of x
x = y; // Replace x by y
y = temp; // Put the original value of x to y
}

cout << x << '\t' << y << endl;

return 0;
}
{horner, kccecia, lixin}@cse.ust.hk COMP2011 (Spring 2018) p.5
if-else Statement
Syntax: if-else Statement
if (<bool-exp>) <stmt> else <stmt>
if (<bool-exp>) { <stmts> } else { <stmts> }

boolean
Example: To find the larger value.
expression
false true
int x, y, larger;

cin >> x >> y;

statements 1 statements
2
if (x > y)
larger = x;
else
larger = y;

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if-else-if Statement

Syntax: if-else-if Statement

if (<bool-exp>) <stmt>
else if (<bool-exp>) <stmt>
else if (<bool-exp>) <stmt>
..
.
else < stmt >

if (<bool-exp>) { <stmts> }
else if (<bool-exp>) { <stmts> }
else if (<bool-exp>) { <stmts> }
..
.
else { <stmts> }

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Example: Conversion to Letter Grade
#include <iostream> /* File: if-elseif-grade.cpp */
using namespace std;

int main() /* To determine your grade (fictitious) */

{
char grade; // Letter grade
int mark; cin >> mark; // Numerical mark between 0 and 100

if (mark >= 90)

grade = 'A'; // mark >= 90
else if (mark >= 60)
grade = 'B'; // 90 > mark >= 60
else if (mark >= 20)
grade = 'C'; // 60 > mark >= 20
else if (mark >= 10)
grade = 'D'; // 20 > mark >= 10
else
grade = 'F'; // 10 > mark

cout << "Your letter grade is " << grade << endl;
return 0;
}
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Relational Operators

Math C++ Meaning

= == equal to
< < less than
≤ <= less than or equal to
> > greater than
≥ >= greater than or equal to
6= != not equal to

Relational operators are used to compare two values.

The result is boolean indicating if the relationship is true or
false.
Don’t mix up the 2 following different expressions:
x=y // This is an assignment
x == y // This is an equality comparison

{horner, kccecia, lixin}@cse.ust.hk COMP2011 (Spring 2018) p.9

Logical Operators
Logical operators are used to modify or combine boolean
values.
C++ has 3 logical operators:
!: logical NOT
||: logical OR
&&: logical AND
Boolean values
true: internally represented by 1; ANY non-zero number is also
considered true
false: internally represented by 0

p q !p p && q p || q
T T F T T
T F F F T
F T T F T
F F T F F

{horner, kccecia, lixin}@cse.ust.hk COMP2011 (Spring 2018) p.10

Precedence and Associativity of Boolean Operators

Operator Description Associativity

() parentheses —
++ −− ! − increment, decrement, Right-to-Left
logical NOT, unary minus
∗/% multiply, divide, mod Left-to-Right
+− add, subtract Left-to-Right
> >= < <= relational operator Left-to-Right
== ! = equal, not equal Left-to-Right
&& logical AND Left-to-Right
|| logical OR Left-to-Right
= assignment Right-to-Left

Operators are shown in decreasing order of precedence.

When you are in doubt of the precedence or associativity, use
extra parentheses to enforce the order of operations.
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Quiz

What is the value of each of the following boolean expressions:

4 == 5
x > 0 && x < 10 /* if int x = 5 */
5 ∗ 15 + 4 == 13 && 12 < 19 || !false == 5 < 24
true && false || true
x /* if int x = 5 */
x + + == 6 /* if int x = 5 */
x =9
x == 3 == 4 /* assume that x is an int */

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= != ==
Both x = y and x == y are valid C++ expressions
x = y is an assignment expression, assigning the value of y
to x. The expression has a result which is the final value of x.
(That is why the cascading assignment works.)

x == y is a boolean expression, testing if x and y are equal,

and the result is either true or false.

But since C++ also interprets integers as boolean, so

in if (x = 3) { <stmts> } , <stmts> are always executed
because (x = 3) evaluates to 3 — a non-zero value — which is
interpreted as true.

in if (x = 0) { <stmts> } , <stmts> are always NOT

executed because (x = 0) evaluates to 0 which is interpreted
as false.

It is not recommended to use an assignment expression as a

boolean expression.
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if-else Operator: ?:
Syntax: if-else Expression
(<bool-exp>) ? <then-exp> : <else- exp>;

The ternary if-else operator: ?: is used.

Unlike an if-else statement, an if-else expression has a value!

Example
/* Example: get the larger of two numbers */
larger = (x > y) ? x : y;

/* Example: get the letter grade from the percentile */

grade = (percentile >= 85) ? 'A'
: ((percentile >= 60) ? 'B'
: ((percentile >= 15) ? 'C'
: ((percentile >= 5) ? 'D': 'F'
)
)
);

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Nested if

In the if or if-else statement, the < stmts > in the if-part or

else-part can be any statement, including another if or if-else
statement. In the latter case, it is called a nested if statement.
“Nested” means that a complete statement is inside another.

if (condition1)
{
if (condition2)
if (condition3)
cout  "conditions 1,2,3 are true."  endl;
else
cout  "conditions 1,2 are true."  endl;
else
cout  "condition1 true; condition2 false."  endl;
}

{horner, kccecia, lixin}@cse.ust.hk COMP2011 (Spring 2018) p.15

“Dangling else” Problem

What is the value of x after the following code is executed?

Program code: Interpretation 1: Interpretation 2:

int x = 15; int x = 15; int x = 15;

if (x > 20) if (x > 20) if (x > 20)

if (x > 30) { {
x = 8; if (x > 30) if (x > 30)
else x = 8; x = 8;
x = 9; else }
x = 9; else
} x = 9;

{horner, kccecia, lixin}@cse.ust.hk COMP2011 (Spring 2018) p.16

“Dangling else” Problem ..

C++ groups a dangling else with the most recent if.

Thus, for the code in the previous page, interpretation 1 is

used.
It is a good programming practice to use extra braces “{ } ”
to control how your nested if statements should be executed.
to clarify your intended meaning, together with proper
indentation.

{horner, kccecia, lixin}@cse.ust.hk COMP2011 (Spring 2018) p.17

 Part II

Loops or Iterations

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while Loop (Statement)
Syntax: while Statement
while (<bool-exp>) { <stmts> }

<stmts> will be repeated as long

as the value of <bool-exp> is true.
As usual, <stmts> can be a single
statement, or a sequence of
statements
statements (including another while
statement), or even no statement!
What does while (x > 0) ; do?
boolean
expression
true In general, while statement only
false makes sense if the value of
<bool-exp> may be changed by
<stmts> inside the while loop.
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Example: Factorial using while Loop
#include <iostream> /* File: while-factorial.cpp */
using namespace std;

/* To compute x! = x(x-1)(x-2)...1, where x is a non -ve integer */

int main()
{
int factorial = 1;
int number;

cout << "Enter a non-negative integer: ";

cin >> number;

while (number > 0)

{
factorial *= number; // Same as: factorial = factorial*number
--number; // Same as: number = number-1
}

cout << factorial << endl;

return 0;
}
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Example: Factorial using while Loop ..

(assume the user enters 4 for the variable number)

Iteration factorial number (number > 0)

0 1 4 true
1 4 3 true
2 12 2 true
3 24 1 true
4 24 0 false

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Example: Find the Maximum using while Loop
#include <iostream> /* File: while-max.cpp */
using namespace std;

// To find the maximum of a list of +ve integers. Stop by inputting a

// character that is not a digit. Assume there is at least one number.
int main()
{
cout << "Enter a number: ";
int x; cin >> x; // Input integers

int max = x; // Result initialized with the first number

cout << "Enter the next number: ";

while (cin >> x) // If there is input, cin returns TRUE else FALSE
{
if (x > max)
max = x;
cout << "Enter the next number: ";
}

cout << endl << "The maximum number = " << max << endl;
return 0;
}

{horner, kccecia, lixin}@cse.ust.hk COMP2011 (Spring 2018) p.22

A Good Programming Practice on Loops

After you have written the codes for a loop, try verifying the
following cases:
The first iteration.
The second iteration.
The last iteration.
Do you know exactly how many iterations will be performed?
How can the loop terminate? Otherwise, you have an infinite
loop! And the program runs forever!

{horner, kccecia, lixin}@cse.ust.hk COMP2011 (Spring 2018) p.23

do-while Loop (Statement)
Syntax: do-while Statement
do { <stmts> } while (<bool-exp>);

Again, like the while statement,

<stmts> will be repeated as long
as the value of <bool-exp> is true.
However, unlike the the while
statements statement, the <bool-exp> is
evaluated after <stmts> at the
bottom of do-while statement.
boolean
expression That means, <stmts> in do-while
true
loop will be executed at least once,
false
whereas <stmts> in while loop
may not be executed at all.

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Example: Factorial using do-while Loop
#include <iostream> /* File: do-factorial.cpp */
using namespace std; // Compute x! = x(x-1)(x-2)...1; x is non -ve

int main()
{
int factorial = 1, number;
cout << "Enter a non-negative integer: ";
cin >> number;

if (number > 0)
{
do
{
factorial *= number; // Same as: factorial = factorial*number
--number; // Same as: number = number-1
} while (number > 1);
}

cout << factorial << endl;

return 0;
}
{horner, kccecia, lixin}@cse.ust.hk COMP2011 (Spring 2018) p.25
for Loop (Statement)
Syntax: for Statement
for (<for-initialization> ; <bool-exp> ; <post-processing>)
{ <stmts> }

for statement is a generalization of the while

statement. The idea is to control the number of
iterations, usually by a counter variable.
for
initialization <for-initialization> sets up the initial values of
false
some variables, usually a counter, before
boolean
expression
executing <stmts>.
true

<stmts> are iterated as long as <bool-exp> is

statements
true.
post
processing
At the end of each iteration,
<post-processing> will be executed. The idea
is to change some values, again usually the
counter, so that <bool-exp> may become false.
{horner, kccecia, lixin}@cse.ust.hk COMP2011 (Spring 2018) p.26
Example: Factorial using for Loop

#include <iostream> /* File: for-factorial.cpp */

using namespace std;

/* To compute x! = x(x-1)(x-2)...1, where x is a non -ve integer */

int main()
{
int factorial = 1;
int number;

cout << "Enter a non-negative integer: ";

cin >> number;

for (int j = 1; j <= number; ++j) // Set up a counter to iterate

factorial *= j;

cout << number << "! = " << factorial << endl;
return 0;
}

{horner, kccecia, lixin}@cse.ust.hk COMP2011 (Spring 2018) p.27

Example: x n using for Loop
#include <iostream> /* File: for-power.cpp */
using namespace std;

/* To compute x n , where x and n are integers, and n >= 0 */

int main()
{
int x;
int n; // Power or exponent
int result = 1; // Need to initialize it to 1. Why?

cout << "Enter a number followed by its +ve power: ";

cin >> x >> n;

if (n < 0)
cerr << "Error: n < 0!" << endl;
else
{
for (int j = 1; j <= n; j++)
result *= x;

cout << x << " to the power of " << n << " = " << result << endl;
}

return 0;
}
{horner, kccecia, lixin}@cse.ust.hk COMP2011 (Spring 2018) p.28
Remarks on for Statement

Notice that the variable j in the above 2 examples are only

defined inside the for loop. When the loop is done, j
disappears, and you cannot use that j anymore.
Don’t mis-type a “;” after the first line of the for loop. e.g.
What is the result of the following code?
for (int j = 1; j <= n; j++);
result *= x;

while statement is a special case of for statement. How can

you simulate while using for?
Sometimes, if the for-body is short, you may even further
compact the code as follows:

for (int j = 1; j <= number; factorial *= j++)

;

{horner, kccecia, lixin}@cse.ust.hk COMP2011 (Spring 2018) p.29

Which Loop to Use?

for loop : When you know how to specify the required

number of iterations.
When the counter variable is also needed for
computation inside the loop.
e.g. To compute sums, products, and to count.
while loop : You want to repeat an action but do not know
exactly how many times it will be repeated.
The number of iterations is determined by a
boolean condition. e.g.
while (cin >> x) { ... }

do-while loop : The associated actions have to be executed at

least once.
Otherwise, do-while and while are used in similar
situations.
{horner, kccecia, lixin}@cse.ust.hk COMP2011 (Spring 2018) p.30
 Part III

Nested Looooooops

{horner, kccecia, lixin}@cse.ust.hk COMP2011 (Spring 2018) p.31

Nested Loops Example: Compute Average Score
One may put a while loop inside another while loop.
#include <iostream> /∗ File: nested-while-avg.cpp ∗/
using namespace std;

int main( )
{
int NUM ASSIGNMENTS = 5; // Uppercase variable doesn’t change
int j; // Assignment counter
int score, sum of scores;
char reply = ’y’; // ’y’ for yes, ’n’ for no; initialized to yes

cout  "Enter scores for the first student? (y/n) "  endl;
while ((cin  reply) && (reply == ’y’ || reply == ’Y’))
{
sum of scores = 0; // Reset the accumulator to zero
j = 1; // Reset the assignment counter to 1

while (j <= NUM ASSIGNMENTS)

{
cout  "Enter student’s score for assignment #"  j  " : ";
cin  score; // Remark: one should check input errors here
sum of scores += score;
j++;
}
cout  "The average score = "  sum of scores/NUM ASSIGNMENTS  endl;
cout  "Enter scores for another student? (y/n) " ;
}

return 0;
}

{horner, kccecia, lixin}@cse.ust.hk COMP2011 (Spring 2018) p.32

Nested Loops Example: Multiplication Table

#include <iostream> /* File: multiplication-table.cpp */

#include <iomanip> // a library that helps control input/output formats
using namespace std;

int main()
{
// To print out products of j*k where j, k = 1,...,10
for (int j = 1; j <= 10; ++j)
{
for (int k = 1; k <= 10; ++k) // Reset k=1 for each j. Why?
cout << setw(4) << j*k; // Set the length of output field to 4

cout << endl;

}

return 0;
}

{horner, kccecia, lixin}@cse.ust.hk COMP2011 (Spring 2018) p.33

break and continue
A break causes the innermost enclosing loop to exit
immediately.
A continue causes the next iteration of the enclosing loop to
begin.
That is, in the while loop, control passes to test the boolean
expression again immediately.

statements 2 statements 2

false false
true
boolean true boolean
expression 2 statements 3 expression 2

continue

statements 1 statements statements 1

3

boolean true boolean true

expression 1 expression 1

false false

break

{horner, kccecia, lixin}@cse.ust.hk COMP2011 (Spring 2018) p.34

Example: Stop Inputs with break
#include <iostream> /* File: break-avg.cpp */
using namespace std;

int main()
{
int NUM_ASSIGNMENTS = 5; // Uppercase variable doesn't change
int j; // Assignment counter
int score, sum_of_scores;
char reply = 'y'; // 'y' for yes, 'n' for no; initialized to yes

cout << "Enter scores for the first student? (y/n) " << endl;
while ((cin >> reply) && (reply == 'y' || reply == 'Y'))
{
sum_of_scores = 0; // Reset the accumulator to zero
j = 1; // Reset the assignment counter to 1

while (j <= NUM_ASSIGNMENTS)

{
cout << "Enter student's score for assignment #" << j << " : ";
cin >> score; // Remark: one should check input errors here

if (score < 0)
break ;

sum_of_scores += score;
j++;
}
cout << "The average score = " << sum_of_scores/NUM_ASSIGNMENTS << endl;
cout << "Enter scores for another student? (y/n) " ;
}
return 0;
} // Question: What is the output with the input: 4, 5, -6, 7, 8?

{horner, kccecia, lixin}@cse.ust.hk COMP2011 (Spring 2018) p.35

Example: Ignore Negative Inputs with continue
#include <iostream> /* File: continue-avg.cpp */
using namespace std;

int main()
{
int NUM_ASSIGNMENTS = 5; // Uppercase variable doesn't change
int j; // Assignment counter
int score, sum_of_scores;
char reply = 'y'; // 'y' for yes, 'n' for no; initialized to yes

cout << "Enter scores for the first student? (y/n) " << endl;
while ((cin >> reply) && (reply == 'y' || reply == 'Y'))
{
sum_of_scores = 0; // Reset the accumulator to zero
j = 1; // Reset the assignment counter to 1

while (j <= NUM_ASSIGNMENTS)

{
cout << "Enter student's score for assignment #" << j << " : ";
cin >> score; // Remark: one should check input errors here

if (score < 0)
continue ;

sum_of_scores += score;
j++;
}
cout << "The average score = " << sum_of_scores/NUM_ASSIGNMENTS << endl;
cout << "Enter scores for another student? (y/n) " ;
}
return 0;
} // Question: What is the output with the input: 4, 5, -6, 7, 8 ?

{horner, kccecia, lixin}@cse.ust.hk COMP2011 (Spring 2018) p.36

Example: Difference between break and continue

/* File: break-example.cpp */ /* File: continue-example.cpp */

#include <iostream> #include <iostream>
using namespace std; using namespace std;

int main() int main()

{ {
int j = 0; int j = 0;

while (j < 3) while (j < 3)

{ {
cout << "Enter iteration " cout << "Enter iteration "
<< j << endl; << j << endl;

if (j == 1) if (j == 1)
break; continue ;

cout << "Leave iteration " cout << "Leave iteration "
<< j << endl; << j << endl;
j++; j++;
} }

return 0; return 0;
} }

Question: What are the outputs of the 2 programs?

{horner, kccecia, lixin}@cse.ust.hk COMP2011 (Spring 2018) p.37
Where Does continue; Continue in a for Loop?

#include <iostream> /* File: for-continue.cpp */

using namespace std;

int main()
{
for (int j = 1; j <= 10; j++)
{
cout << "j = " << j << endl;

if (j == 3)
{
j = 8;
continue; // What if it is replaced by break;
}
}

return 0;
}

{horner, kccecia, lixin}@cse.ust.hk COMP2011 (Spring 2018) p.38

Common Loop Errors
What is the error in each of the following cases?

int sum;
Case 1: while (cin >> x)
sum += x;

int j;
while (j < 10)
{
Case 2:
cout << "hello again!" << endl;
j++;
}

int j = 0;
while (j < 10);
{
Case 3:
cout << "hello again!" << endl;
j++;
}

{horner, kccecia, lixin}@cse.ust.hk COMP2011 (Spring 2018) p.39