WHAT IS LOOPS IN C++

PROGRAMMING

Loops have as purpose to repeat a statement a certain number of times or while a condition is fulfilled.
You may encounter situations when a block of code needs to be executed several number of times. In general,
statements are executed sequentially: The first statement in a function is executed first, followed by the second,
and so on.

Programming languages provide various control structures that allow for more complicated execution paths.
A loop statement allows us to execute a statement or group of statements multiple times. Given below is the
general form of a loop statement in most of the programming languages:

C++ programming language provides the following types of loops to handle looping requirements.

Loop and there Type Description

while loop - Repeats a statement or group of statements while a given condition is true. It tests the condition
before executing the loop body.

for loop - Executes a sequence of statements multiple times and abbreviates the code that manages the loop
variable.

do...while loop - It is more like a while statement, except that it tests the condition at the end of the loop
body.

nested loops - You can use one or more loops inside any other while, for, or do..while loop.

while Loop

A while loop in C++ programming repeatedly executes a target statement as long as a given condition is true.

Syntax

The syntax of a while loop in C++ programming language is:

while(condition)
{
statement(s);
}

Here, statement(s) may be a single statement or a block of statements.

The condition may be any expression, and true is any nonzero value. The loop iterates while the condition is
true.
When the condition becomes false, the program control passes to the line immediately following the loop.

Flow Diagram
 Flow diagram of while loop

Here, the key point to note is that a while loop might not execute at all. When the condition is tested and the
result is false, the loop body will be skipped and the first statement after the while loop will be executed.
Example

#include <iostream.h>
int main ()
{
/* local variable definition */
int a = 10;
/* while loop execution */
while( a < 20 )
{
cout<<"value of a: %d\n"<<a;
a++;
}
return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:
value of a: 10
value of a: 11
value of a: 12
value of a: 13
value of a: 14
value of a: 15
value of a: 16
value of a: 17
value of a: 18
value of a: 19

for Loop
A for loop is a repetition control structure that allows you to efficiently write a loop that needs to execute a

specific number of times.

Syntax
The syntax of a for loop in C++ programming language is:

for ( init; condition; increment )

{
statement(s);
}

Here is the flow of control in a ‘for’ loop:

1. The init step is executed first, and only once. This step allows you to declare and initialize any loop control
variables. You are not required to put a statement here, as long as a semicolon appears.

2. Next, the condition is evaluated. If it is true, the body of the loop is executed. If it is false, the body of the
loop does not execute and the flow of control jumps to the next statement just after the ‘for’ loop.

3. After the body of the ‘for’ loop executes, the flow of control jumps back up to the increment statement. This
statement allows you to update any loop control variables. This statement can be left blank, as long as a
semicolon appears after the condition.

4. The condition is now evaluated again. If it is true, the loop executes and the process repeats itself (body of
loop, then increment step, and then again condition). After the condition becomes false, the ‘for’ loop
terminates.

Flow Diagram

Flow diagram of for loop

Example

#include <iostream.h>
int main ()
{
/* for loop execution */
for( int a = 10; a < 20; a = a + 1 )
{
cout<<"value of a: %d\n"<<a;
}
return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:
value of a: 10
value of a: 11
value of a: 12
value of a: 13
value of a: 14
value of a: 15
value of a: 16
value of a: 17
value of a: 18
value of a: 19

do…while Loop
Unlike for and while loops, which test the loop condition at the top of the loop, the do...while loop in C++
programming checks its condition at the bottom of the loop.

A do...while loop is similar to a while loop, except the fact that it is guaranteed to execute at least one time.

Syntax

The syntax of a do...while loop in C++ programming language is:

do
{
statement(s);
}while( condition );

Notice that the conditional expression appears at the end of the loop, so the statement(s) in the loop executes
once before the condition is tested.

If the condition is true, the flow of control jumps back up to do, and the statement(s) in the loop executes
again. This process repeats until the given condition becomes false.
Flow Diagram

Flow diagram od do while loop

Example

#include <iostream.h>
int main ()
{
/* local variable definition */
int a = 10;
/* do loop execution */
do
{
cout<<"value of a: %d\n"<<a;
a = a + 1;
}while( a < 20 );
return 0;
}
When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:
value of a: 10
value of a: 11
value of a: 12
value of a: 13
value of a: 14
value of a: 15
value of a: 16
value of a: 17
value of a: 18
value of a: 19

Nested Loops
C++ programming allows to use one loop inside another loop. The following section shows a few examples to

illustrate the concept.

Syntax

The syntax for a nested for loop statement in C++ is as follows:

for ( init; condition; increment )

{
for ( init; condition; increment )
{
statement(s);
}
statement(s);
}

The syntax for a nested while loop statement in C++ programming language is as follows:
while(condition)
{
while(condition)
{
statement(s);
}
statement(s);
}

The syntax for a nested do...while loop statement in C++ programming language is as follows:

do
{
statement(s);
do
{
statement(s);
}while( condition );
}while( condition );

A final note on loop nesting is that you can put any type of loop inside any other type of loop. For example, a
‘for’ loop can be inside a ‘while’ loop or vice versa.

Example

The following program uses a nested for loop to find the prime numbers from 2 to 30:

#include <iostream.h>
int main ()
{
/* local variable definition */
int i, j;

for(i=2; i<30; i++) {

for(j=2; j <= (i/j); j++)
if(!(i%j)) break; // if factor found, not prime
if(j > (i/j)) cout<<"%d is prime\n"<< i;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:
2 is prime
3 is prime
5 is prime
7 is prime
11 is prime
13 is prime
17 is prime
19 is prime
23 is prime
29 is prime