C - Loops

Dr. Shalini Gambhir

 C - Loops
• 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 Control Statements
• Loop control statements change execution
from its normal sequence. When execution
leaves a scope, all automatic objects that
were created in that scope are destroyed.
• C supports the following control statements.
 The Infinite Loop
• A loop becomes an infinite loop if a condition never becomes false.
The for loop is traditionally used for this purpose. Since none of the three
expressions that form the 'for' loop are required, you can make an endless
loop by leaving the conditional expression empty.
• #include <stdio.h>
• int main ()
• {
for( ; ; )
{
printf("This loop will run forever.\n");
}
return 0;
}
When the conditional expression is absent, it is assumed to be true. You may
have an initialization and increment expression, but C programmers more
commonly use the for(;;) construct to signify an infinite loop.

• NOTE − You can terminate an infinite loop by pressing Ctrl + C keys.

 if-else vs switch
What is an if-else statement?
An if-else statement in C programming is a conditional
statement that executes a different set of statements
based on the condition that is true or false. The 'if' block
will be executed only when the specified condition is true,
and if the specified condition is false, then the else block
will be executed.
Syntax of if-else statement is given below:
if(expression)
{
// statements;
}
else
{
// statements;
}
• What is a switch statement?
• A switch statement is a conditional statement used in C programming to check the
value of a variable and compare it with all the cases. If the value is matched with any
case, then its corresponding statements will be executed. Each case has some name
or number known as the identifier. The value entered by the user will be compared
with all the cases until the case is found. If the value entered by the user is not
matched with any case, then the default statement will be executed.

• Syntax of the switch statement is given below:

• switch(expression)
• {
• case constant 1:
• // statements;
• break;
• case constant 2:
• // statements;
• break;
• case constant n:
• // statements;
• break;
• default:
• // statements;
• }
 Similarity b/w if-else and switch
• Both the if-else and switch are the decision-
making statements.
• Decision-making statements mean that the
output of the expression will decide which
statements are to be executed.
 Differences b/w if-else and switch
statement
• The following are the differences between if-else and
switch statement are:
1. Definition
• if-else
• Based on the result of the expression in the 'if-else'
statement, the block of statements will be executed. If
the condition is true, then the 'if' block will be
executed otherwise 'else' block will execute.
• Switch statement
• The switch statement contains multiple cases or
choices. The user will decide the case, which is to
execute.
2. Expression
• If-else
• It can contain a single expression or multiple
expressions for multiple choices. In this, an
expression is evaluated based on the range of
values or conditions. It checks both equality and
logical expressions.
• Switch
• It contains only a single expression, and this
expression is either a single integer object or a
string object. It checks only equality expression.
3. Evaluation
• If-else
• An if-else statement can evaluate almost all
the types of data such as integer, floating-
point, character, pointer, or Boolean.
• Switch
• A switch statement can evaluate either an
integer or a character.
4. Sequence of Execution
• If-else
• In the case of 'if-else' statement, either the 'if' block or the 'else'
block will be executed based on the condition.
• Switch
• In the case of the 'switch' statement, one case after another will be
executed until the break keyword is not found, or the default
statement is executed.
5. Default Execution
• If-else
• If the condition is not true within the 'if' statement, then by default,
the else block statements will be executed.
• Switch
• If the expression specified within the switch statement is not
matched with any of the cases, then the default statement, if
defined, will be executed.
6. Values
• If-else
• Values are based on the condition specified inside the 'if' statement. The value will
decide either the 'if' or 'else' block is to be executed.
• Switch
• In this case, value is decided by the user. Based on the choice of the user, the case
will be executed.
7. Use
• If-else
• It evaluates a condition to be true or false.
• Switch
• A switch statement compares the value of the variable with multiple cases. If the
value is matched with any of the cases, then the block of statements associated
with this case will be executed.
8. Editing
• If-else Editing in 'if-else' statement is not easy as if we remove the 'else'
statement, then it will create the havoc.
• Switch
• Editing in switch statement is easier as compared to the 'if-else' statement. If we
remove any of the cases from the switch, then it will not interrupt the execution of
other cases. Therefore, we can say that the switch statement is easy to modify
and maintain.
9. Speed
• If-else
• If the choices are multiple, then the speed of the
execution of 'if-else' statements is slow.
• Switch
• The case constants in the switch statement
create a jump table at the compile time. This
jump table chooses the path of the execution
based on the value of the expression. If we have
a multiple choice, then the execution of the
switch statement will be much faster than the
equivalent logic of 'if-else' statement.
 Using range in switch case in C
• We can use a range of numbers instead of a single
number or character in the case statement.
• Range in switch case can be useful when we want to
run the same set of statements for a range of numbers
so that we do not have to write cases separately for
each value.
• You can specify a range of consecutive values in a
single case label.
• Syntax
• The syntax for using range case is:
• case low ... high: It can be used for a range of ASCII
character codes like this:
• case 'A' ... 'Z':
• You need to Write spaces around the ellipses (
… ).
• For example, write this:
• // Correct - case 1 ... 5:
• // Wrong - case
 C program to illustrate
using range in switch case
• #include <stdio.h>
• int main()
• {
• int arr[] = { 1, 5, 15, 20 };
•
• for (int i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
• switch (arr[i]) {
• // range 1 to 6
• case 1 ... 6:
• printf("%d in range 1 to 6\n", arr[i]);
• break;
• // range 19 to 20
• case 19 ... 20:
• printf("%d in range 19 to 20\n", arr[i]);
• break;
• default:
• printf("%d not in range\n", arr[i]);
• break;
• }
• }
• return 0;
• }
• Output
• 1 in range 1 to 6
• 5 in range 1 to 6
• 15 not in range
• 20 in range 19 to 20
 Error conditions
• low > high: The compiler gives an error
message.
• Overlapping case values: If the value of a case
label is within a case range that has already
been used in the switch statement, the
compiler gives an error message.
 Exercise
• Try the same program for a char array by
modifying the char array and case statement.
 while loop in C
• The while Loop is an entry-controlled loop in
C programming language. This loop can be
used to iterate a part of code while the given
condition remains true.
• Syntax
• The while loop syntax is as follows:
• while (test expression)
• {
// body consisting of multiple statements
}
Example
• // C program to demonstrate while loop
• #include <stdio.h>
• int main()
• {
• // Initialization of loop variable
• int i = 0;
• // setting test expression as (i < 5), means the loop
• // will execute till i is less than 5
• while (i < 5) {
• // loop statements
• printf(“KeepSmiling\n");
•
• // updating the loop variable
• i++;
• }
• return 0;
• }
• Output
• KeepSmiling
• KeepSmiling
• KeepSmiling
• KeepSmiling
• KeepSmiling
 while Loop Structure
• The while loop works by following a very structured top-down approach
that can be divided into the following parts:
• Initialization: In this step, we initialize the loop variable to some initial
value. Initialization is not part of while loop syntax but it is essential when
we are using some variable in the test expression

• Conditional Statement: This is one of the most crucial steps as it decides

whether the block in the while loop code will execute. The while loop
body will be executed if and only the test condition defined in the
conditional statement is true.

• Body: It is the actual set of statements that will be executed till the
specified condition is true. It is generally enclosed inside { } braces.

• Updation: It is an expression that updates the value of the loop

variable in each iteration. It is also not part of the syntax but we have to
define it explicitly in the body of the loop.
Flowchart of while loop in C
 Working of while Loop
• Working of the while loop by looking at the flowchart:
• STEP 1: When the program first comes to the loop, the
test condition will be evaluated.

• STEP 2A: If the test condition is false, the body of the

loop will be skipped, program will continue.

• STEP 2B: If the expression evaluates to true, the body

of the loop will be executed.

• STEP 3: After executing the body, the program control

will go to STEP 1. This process will continue till the test
expression is true.
 Infinite while loop
• An infinite while loop is created when the
given condition is always true. It is
encountered by programmers in when:
• The test condition is incorrect.
• Updation statement not present.
 Example
• // C program to demonstrate an infinite while loop
• #include <stdio.h>
• int main()
• {
• // Initialization
• int g1 = 1;
• int g2 = 1;
•
• // 'g1' is the Check/Test statement, which means that
• // the while loop will iterate till the conditions
• // satiate
• while (g1 < 10) {
•
• // ‘g2' is the body statements
• g2 =g2 + 1;
• printf(“KeepSmiling to Infinity");
• }
• // Return statement to tell that everything executed
• // safely
• return 0;
• }
• Output
• KeepSmiling to Infinity
• KeepSmiling to Infinity
• KeepSmiling to Infinity .........................
• The loop will continue till infinite because the
loop variable will always remain the same
resulting in the condition that is always true.
• Important Points
• It is an entry-controlled loop.
• It runs the block of statements till the
conditions are satiated, once the conditions
are not satisfied it will terminate.
• Its workflow is firstly it checks the condition
and then executes the body. Hence, a type of
pre-tested loop.
• This loop is generally preferred over for
loop when the number of iterations is
unknown.