Chapter 5: Loops
Sections 5.1−5.6, 5.9
Textbooks: Y. Daniel Liang, Introduction to Programming with C++, 3rd Edition
© Copyright 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
These slides were adapted by Prof. Gheith Abandah from the Computer Engineering Department of the University
of Jordan for the Course: Computer Skills for Engineers (0907101) 1
Updated by Dr. Ashraf Suyyagh (Spring 2021)
Outline
• Introduction
• The while Loop
• The do-while Loop
• The for Loop
• Which Loop to Use?
• Nested Loops
• Keywords break and continue
2
Introduction
Suppose that you need to print a string (e.g.,
"Welcome to C++!") a hundred times. It would be
tedious to have to write the following statement a
hundred times:
cout << "Welcome to C++!" << endl;
3
Introduction
cout << "Welcome to Java!" << endl;
cout << "Welcome to Java!" << endl;
cout << "Welcome to Java!" << endl;
cout << "Welcome to Java!" << endl;
cout << "Welcome to Java!" << endl;
100
times …
cout << "Welcome to Java!" << endl;
cout << "Welcome to Java!" << endl;
cout << "Welcome to Java!" << endl;
cout << "Welcome to Java!" << endl;
cout << "Welcome to Java!" << endl;
So, how do you solve this problem?
4
Outline
• Introduction
• The while Loop
• The do-while Loop
• The for Loop
• Which Loop to Use?
• Nested Loops
• Keywords break and continue
5
Introducing while Loops
A while loop executes statements repeatedly while the
condition is true.
int count = 0;
while (count < 100)
{
cout << "Welcome to C++!\n";
count++;
}
6
while Loop Flow Chart
7
animation
Trace while Loop
Initialize count
int count = 0;
while (count < 2)
{
cout << "Welcome to C++!";
count++;
}
8
animation
Trace while Loop, cont.
(count < 2) is true
int count = 0;
while (count < 2)
{
cout << "Welcome to C++!";
count++;
}
9
animation
Trace while Loop, cont.
Print Welcome to C++
int count = 0;
while (count < 2)
{
cout << "Welcome to C++!";
count++;
}
10
animation
Trace while Loop, cont.
Increase count by 1
int count = 0; count is 1 now
while (count < 2)
{
cout << "Welcome to C++!";
count++;
}
11
animation
Trace while Loop, cont.
(count < 2) is still true since count
int count = 0; is 1
while (count < 2)
{
cout << "Welcome to C++!";
count++;
}
12
animation
Trace while Loop, cont.
Print Welcome to C++
int count = 0;
while (count < 2)
{
cout << "Welcome to C++!";
count++;
}
13
animation
Trace while Loop, cont.
Increase count by 1
int count = 0; count is 2 now
while (count < 2)
{
cout << "Welcome to C++!";
count++;
}
14
animation
Trace while Loop, cont.
(count < 2) is false since count is 2
int count = 0; now
while (count < 2)
{
cout << "Welcome to C++!";
count++;
}
15
animation
Trace while Loop
The loop exits. Execute the next
int count = 0; statement after the loop.
while (count < 2)
{
cout << "Welcome to C++!";
count++;
}
16
Case Study: 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
17
GuessNumber.cpp 1/2
#include <iostream>
#include <cstdlib>
#include <ctime> // Needed for the time function
using namespace std;
int main()
{
// Generate a random number to be guessed
srand(time(0));
int number = rand() % 101;
cout << "Guess a magic number between 0 and 100";
18
GuessNumber.cpp 1/2
int guess = -1;
while (guess != number)
{
// Prompt the user to guess the number
cout << "\nEnter your guess: ";
cin >> guess;
if (guess == number)
cout << "Yes, the number is " << number << endl;
else if (guess > number)
cout << "Your guess is too high" << endl;
else
cout << "Your guess is too low" << endl;
} // End of loop
return 0;
19
}
Loop Design Strategy
20
Case Study: Multiple Subtraction Quiz
Take the subtraction quiz 5 times.
Report number of correct answers and the quiz
time.
SubtractionQuiz Run
21
SubtractionQuizLoop.cpp 1/3
#include <iostream>
#include <ctime> // Needed for time function
#include <cstdlib> // Needed for the srand and rand functions
using namespace std;
int main()
{
int correctCount = 0; // Count the number of correct answers
int count = 0; // Count the number of questions
long startTime = time(0);
const int NUMBER_OF_QUESTIONS = 5;
srand(time(0)); // Set a random seed
while (count < NUMBER_OF_QUESTIONS)
{ See next slides }
long endTime = time(0);
long testTime = endTime - startTime;
cout << "Correct count is " << correctCount << "\nTest time is "
<< testTime << " seconds\n";
return 0;
}
22
SubtractionQuizLoop.cpp 2/3
while (count < NUMBER_OF_QUESTIONS)
{
// 1. Generate two random single-digit integers
int number1 = rand() % 10;
int number2 = rand() % 10;
// 2. If number1 < number2, swap number1 with number2
if (number1 < number2)
{
int temp = number1;
number1 = number2;
number2 = temp;
}
23
SubtractionQuizLoop.cpp 3/3
// 3. Prompt the student to answer “what is num1 – num2?”
cout << "What is " << number1 << " - " << number2 << "? ";
int answer;
cin >> answer;
// 4. Grade the answer and display the result
if (number1 - number2 == answer)
{
cout << "You are correct!\n";
correctCount++;
}
else
cout << "Your answer is wrong.\n" << number1 << " - " <<
number2 << " should be " << (number1 - number2) << endl;
// Increase the count
count++;
} 24
Controlling a Loop with User
Confirmation
25
Controlling a Loop with a Sentinel Value
You may use an input value to signify the end of the loop.
Such a value is known as a sentinel value.
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
26
SentinelValue.cpp
int data;
cin >> data;
// Keep reading data until the input is 0
int sum = 0;
while (data != 0)
{
sum += data;
// Read the next data
cout << "Enter an integer (the input ends " <<
"if it is 0): ";
cin >> data;
}
cout << "The sum is " << sum << endl;
27
Input and Output Redirections
• If you have a large number of data to enter, it would be
cumbersome to type from the keyboard.
• You may store the data separated by whitespaces in a
text file, say input.txt, and run the program and
redirecting input to the file.
• You can also redirect program output to a text file, say
output.txt.
SentinelValue.exe < input.txt > output.txt
28
Reading Data from a File
• If you have many numbers to read from a file,
you need to write a loop to read all these
numbers.
• You can invoke the eof() function on the input
object to detect the end of file.
• A program that reads all numbers from the file
numbers.txt.
ReadAllData Run
29
ReadAllData.cpp
#include <iostream>
#include <fstream>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
// Open a file
ifstream input("numbers.txt");
double sum = 0;
double number;
while (!input.eof()) // Read data to the end of file
{
input >> number; // Read data
cout << number << " "; // Display data
sum += number;
}
input.close();
cout << "\nTotal is " << sum << endl;
return 0;
} 30
Caution
• Don’t use floating-point values for equality checking in a
loop control expression; they are approximations, using
them can result in inaccurate results.
• The following loop does not stop.
double item = 1;
double sum = 0;
while (item != 0) // No guarantee it will be 0
{
sum += item;
item -= 0.1;
}
31
Outline
• Introduction
• The while Loop
• The do-while Loop
• The for Loop
• Which Loop to Use?
• Nested Loops
• Keywords break and continue
32
do-while Loop
A do-while loop is the same as
a while loop except that it
executes the loop body first and
then checks the loop
continuation condition.
TestDoWhile Run
33
TestDoWhile.cpp
// Initialize data and sum
int data = 0;
int sum = 0;
do
{
sum += data;
// Read the next data
cout << "Enter an integer (the input ends " <<
"if it is 0): ";
cin >> data; // Keep reading until the input is 0
} while (data != 0);
cout << "The sum is " << sum << endl;
34
Outline
• Introduction
• The while Loop
• The do-while Loop
• The for Loop
• Which Loop to Use?
• Nested Loops
• Keywords break and continue
35
for Loops
A for loop has a
concise syntax for
writing loops.
animation
Trace for Loop
Declare i
int i;
for (i = 0; i < 2; i++)
{
cout << "Welcome to C++!";
}
37
animation
Trace for Loop, cont.
Execute initializer
i is now 0
int i;
for (i = 0; i < 2; i++)
{
cout << "Welcome to C++!";
}
38
animation
Trace for Loop, cont.
(i < 2) is true
since i is 0
int i;
for (i = 0; i < 2; i++)
{
cout << "Welcome to C++!";
}
39
animation
Trace for Loop, cont.
Print Welcome to C++!
int i;
for (i = 0; i < 2; i++)
{
cout << "Welcome to C++!";
}
40
animation
Trace for Loop, cont.
Execute adjustment statement
i now is 1
int i;
for (i = 0; i < 2; i++)
{
cout << "Welcome to C++!";
}
41
animation
Trace for Loop, cont.
(i < 2) is still true
since i is 1
int i;
for (i = 0; i < 2; i++)
{
cout << "Welcome to C++!";
}
42
animation
Trace for Loop, cont.
Print Welcome to C++
int i;
for (i = 0; i < 2; i++)
{
cout << "Welcome to C++!";
}
43
animation
Trace for Loop, cont.
Execute adjustment statement
i now is 2
int i;
for (i = 0; i < 2; i++)
{
cout << "Welcome to C++!";
}
44
animation
Trace for Loop, cont.
(i < 2) is false
since i is 2
int i;
for (i = 0; i < 2; i++)
{
cout << "Welcome to C++!";
}
45
animation
Trace for Loop, cont.
Exit the loop. Execute the next
statement after the loop
int i;
for (i = 0; i < 2; i++)
{
cout << "Welcome to C++!";
}
46
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.
47
Note
• If the loop-continuation-condition in a for loop
is omitted, it is implicitly true. Thus the for statement
given below, which is an infinite loop, is correct.
• It is better to use the equivalent while loop to avoid
confusion:
48
Outline
• Introduction
• The while Loop
• The do-while Loop
• The for Loop
• Which Loop to Use?
• Nested Loops
• Keywords break and continue
49
Which Loop to Use?
• The loop statements, while, do-while, and for, are
expressively equivalent; that is, you can write a loop in any of
these three forms.
• The while loop can always be converted into the for loop.
• The for loop can generally be converted into the while loop.
50
Which Loop to Use?
• 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 counter-controlled, as, for example,
when you need to print a message 100 times.
• A while loop may be used if the number of
repetitions is sentinel-controlled, 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. 51
Outline
• Introduction
• The while Loop
• The do-while Loop
• The for Loop
• Which Loop to Use?
• Nested Loops
• Keywords break and continue
52
Nested Loops
A loop can be nested inside another loop.
Example: A program that uses nested for loops to print a
multiplication table.
MultiplicationTable Run
53
MultiplicationTable.cpp 1/2
#include <iostream>
#include <iomanip>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
cout << " Multiplication Table\n";
// Display the number title
cout << " | ";
for (int j = 1; j <= 9; j++)
cout << setw(3) << j;
cout << "\n";
cout << "--------------------------------\n";
54
MultiplicationTable.cpp 2/2
// Display table body
for (int i = 1; i <= 9; i++)
{
cout << i << " | ";
for (int j = 1; j <= 9; j++)
{
// Display the product and align properly
cout << setw(3) << i * j;
}
cout << "\n";
}
return 0;
}
55
Outline
• Introduction
• The while Loop
• The do-while Loop
• The for Loop
• Which Loop to Use?
• Nested Loops
• Keywords break and continue
56
Using break and continue
Use break in a loop to immediately terminate the
loop.
Example: adding integers from 1 to 20 until sum is
greater than or equal to 100.
while (number < 20)
{
number++;
sum += number;
if (sum >= 100)
break; TestBreak Run
}
57
Using break and continue
Use continue in a loop to proceed to the next
iteration.
Example: adding integers from 1 to 20 except 10 and 11.
while (number < 20)
{
number++;
if (number == 10 || number == 11)
continue;
sum += number;
}
TestContinue Run
58
Outline
• Introduction
• The while Loop
• The do-while Loop
• The for Loop
• Which Loop to Use?
• Nested Loops
• Keywords break and continue
59
