Chapter 3: Loops

Presentation of the concept of loop

 Sometimes, we repeat a specific code instruction multiple times to solve a

problem until a specific condition is met. This is known as iterations, which
allows us to write code once and execute it multiple times.
 Loops provide code reusability and simplifie the steps of problem-solving.
We can execute the same code a finite number of times
 There are mainly three types of loops :repeat, ForAnd While.
Presentation of the concept of loop

 Usually, Loops have three main elements which are:

 Initialization: we assign an initial value to a variable used when evaluating the
loop condition.
 The loop condition: is a Boolean expression often evaluated before the
execution of the loop body as in the case of while and for loops, and after the
execution of the loop body as in the case of repeat and do - while. In any case,
the body of the loop is running until the condition will be evaluated as false.
 Variation of the loop condition: this is usually done at the end of the loop body as
an increment or decrement of a counter used to evaluate the loop condition as
in the case of while, repeat and do- while. Forgetting or incorrectly performing
this step causes the loop body to execute infinitely, or give unexpected results.
The loop while

 While loop is used to execute the body of the loop until a specific condition
is false. We apply this loop when we don't know how many times it will run.
The loop while consists of a loop condition, a code block as loop body and
a loop update expression. First, the loop condition is evaluated, and if true,
the code in the body of the loop will be executed. This process repeats until
the loop condition becomes false.
 The loop while

Initialization of the loop Initialization of the loop

While (condition of the loop) do while(condition of the loop)
begin {
Loop’s body Loop’s body
Condition update Condition update
end; }

Syntax of while loop in algorithmics

Syntax of while loop in C
The flowchart of the While loop

Start

true
Condition

false Statements

Exit
Example of using the While loop

 Count from 10 to 20

algorithm count;
var i:integer;
begin
i10; //initialization
While(i<=20) DO//the number 20 is included
begin
write(i);
ii+1; //we increment the counter i (variation of the
//condition and preparation of the next //iteration)
END;
END.
The do-while loop

 The do-while loop is a control flow instruction that executes a block of code
at least once, then repeatedly executes the block, or not, based on a
Boolean condition given at the end of the block.
 In the control structure do-while, there are three main elements which are:
 Action
 Updating loop condition
 Loop Condition Assessment
 The do-while loop

Initialization of the loop Initialization of the loop

DO do
begin {
Loop’s body Loop’s body
Condition update Condition update
END; }
While(condition) while(condition loop);

Syntax of the do – while loop in Syntax of the do-while loop in C

algorithmics
The flowchart of do – While loop
Start

Statements

true
Condition

false

Exit
 Example of using the While-do loop

 Count from 20 to 10
In C language In Algorithmics
algorithm countv2;
var i:integer;
begin
i20;//initialization
do
begin
write(i);
ii-1;// variation of the condition
end;
While (i>=10) //the number 10 is included
end.
The loop for

 The FOR loop is preferable to previous loops when the number of times a
block of instructions is to be executed is known in advance. The main use of
the loop FOR is to manage a counter (integer type)
The for loop is preferred when:
• The variation interval is known
• The increment step is fixed
• Loop exit is related to the loop index
 On the other hand, we use the 'while' loop when the condition of the loop
is:
• Composed of complex logical expression,
• Evaluates additional variables other than the loop counter,
 Loop syntax for

for i x to y do for (i=initial value; condition; variation of i)

begin {
Loop’s body Loop’s body
end; }

Syntax of the for loop in algorithmics Syntax of the for loop in C

 Example of The flowchart of 'for' loop

Start

for(int i = 0;i<10;i++)
i=0 {
statements;
}
true
Condition
(i<10)
Statements

false
i=i+1

Exit
 Example of using the loop for

 Count from 10 to 20
In C language In Algorithmics
algorithm countv2; Initial counter value
var i:integer;
begin
for i 10 to 20 do
begin
write(i); Condition
end;
end.
The main instruction and
automatic increment of i
The 'repeat' loop

 The loop repeat-until executes a block of instructions repeatedly, until a

given condition becomes true. The condition will be re-evaluated at the
end of each iteration of the loop.
Because the condition is evaluated at the end of each iteration, a
repeat/until loop will always execute at least once.
 The 'repeat' loop is similar in structure to the 'do-while' loop.
 In C language, we use the 'do-while' loop.
Repeat loop syntax

Initialization of the loop

repeat
begin
Loop’s body
Condition update
end;
Until(condition)

Syntax of the repeat loop in

algorithmic
 Example of using the loop repeat

 Count from 20 to 10
In Algorithmics

algorithm countv3; Initial counter value

var i:integer;
begin The main instruction and
i20;//initialization decrement of i
repeat
begin
write(i); Stop Condition
ii-1;// variation of the condition
end;
until (i<10)//the number 10 is included
end.
Operations with loops

 Navigate a range in ascending order

 Initial value of the counter = the start of the rank;
 The stopping condition: the counter must be less than or equal to the upper limit
of the rank;
 The step (the variation of the condition): it is carried out with an increment of 1 in
the loop counter.
 Navigate a range in ascending order
Final counter value
= 20 (upper limit)

The loop for The loop while The do-while loop

algorithm count; algorithm count; algorithm count;

var i:integer; var i:integer;

var i:integer;
begin
begin begin
i 10;
for i 10 to 20 do i 10; do
begin while (i<=20) do begin begin
write(i); write(i); write(i);

ii+1; ii+1;
end;
end;
end. end;
while(i <=20)
end. end.
Initial counter
value = 10 (lower
limit) Step = 1
Navigate a range in descending order

 Initial value of the counter = upper limit of the rank;

 The stopping condition: the counter must be greater than or equal to the lower
limit of the rank;
 The step (the variation of the condition): it is carried out with a decrement of 1 in
the loop counter.
 Navigate a range in descending order

The loop for The loop while The do-while loop

algorithm count; algorithm count; algorithm count;

var i:integer;
var i:integer; var i:integer;
begin
begin begin
i20;
for i 20 to 10 do i20; do
begin while(i>=10) do begin begin
write(i); write(i); write(i);
ii-1;
end; ii-1;
end;
end. end;
while(i>=10)
end. end.
 Loop application examples

 Sum of first 10 numbers

algorithm count;
var i,sum:integer; Need to traverse the
rank [1,10]
begin
Initial value =0; the 0
does not disturb the sum0;
addition operation
i 1;
while (i<=10) do
begin
sumsum+i;
ii+1;
end;
write(sum);
end.
 The table detailing the execution flow
of loops
 The loop execution flow table is necessary to see the evolution of the
variables manipulated inside the loops as well as the correct checking of
the condition and the initialization of the value of the loop counter. This
table is composed of n lines for n iterations executed by the loop, plus the
initial state of the variables before launching the loop. In columns, we find
the iteration number, the variables manipulated inside the loop, and the
output if applicable.
 Examples of using the loop execution
table
 Sum of the first 5 numbers
algorithm count;
var i,sum:integer;
begin
iteration i sum output
sum0;
i 1; initialization 0 0 -
while(i<=5)do 1 1 1 1
begin 2 2 3 13
sumsum+i;
3 3 6 136
write(sum+ " ");
ii+1;
4 4 10 1 3 6 10
end; 5 5 15 1 3 6 10 15
end.
Infinite loops

 The problem of infinite loops occurs when there is an error in the condition
of the loop, or in the variation of the condition, below are the possible
causes of an infinite loop:
 The counter is not varied (incremented or decremented), this is not the case of
the loop for because the variation of the counter is done automatically.
 Vary the loop counter so as to never check the stopping condition, in this case, it
is necessary to clearly specify the range of the counter, its limits, and the
movement of the counter (increment or decrement).
 Vary the loop counter inside a conditional statement.
 Wrong condition.
Infinite loops

 To avoid the infinite loop problem, you must take the following precautions:
 Carefully study the range of variation of the counter.
 Specify the loop condition carefully by taking into account the extreme values of
the counter.
 Involve the counter in the loop condition and don't forget to vary it.
 Examples of infinite loops

sum algorithm; sum algorithm; sum algorithm; algorithmsumNumPairs;

vari,sum:integer; vari,sum:integer; vari,sum:integer; vari,sum:integer;

Begin Begin Begin
Begin
sum0; sum0; sum0;
sum0;
i 1; i 1; i 1;
i 1;
while(i<=10) do while(i>=1) do while(i<=10) do
while (i<=10) do begin
begin begin
begin if(i mode2 = 0) then
sumsum+i; sumsum+i;
sumsum+i; begin
i i - 1; i i + 1;
end; sumsum+i;
end; end;
write(sum); write(sum); write(sum);
i i + 1;
end;
end. end. end.
end;
write(sum);
end.
 Example of mathematical applications
of loops
The factorial of a The power function Series offibonacci
number (x to the power n)

fact=1; power=1; int a=0,b=1,c,

for (inti=2;i<=x;i++) for (int i=n;i>=1;i--) i=3,n=8;

printf("%d %d ",a,b);
fact=fact*i; power = power *x;
while (i<=n)
{
c=a+b;
a=b;
b=c;
printf("%d ",c);
i++;
}
Nested loops

 A nested loop means a loop inside another loop. We can have any
number of loops inside another loop.

Example:
For i0 to 10 do
for j 0 to 5 do
statements;
References

 Introduction to algorithms:135 corrected exercises.Authors: Chantal

Richard, Patrice Richard.
 “For” loops. (nd). Accessed November 1, 2022,
athttps://www.irit.fr/~Julien.Pinquier/Docs/MABS/co/09%20-
%20Boucle%20Pour.html?mode=html
 Fundamentals of Loop andIterationinProgramming. (nd). Accessed
October 22, 2022, athttps://www.enjoyalgorithms.com/blog/fundamentals-
of-loop-in-programming-and-algorithms
 Nested Loopsin Cwith Examples. (2019, November
25).GeeksforGeeks.https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/nested-loops-in-c-with-
examples/