Creating Loops
C# Programming
©Rob Miles
What we can do so far
• Store data (using variables)
• Change data (using assignments)
• Make decisions (using conditions)
• There is not much more that we need to
know how to do
– But we do need to know how to create loops
Chapter 6.2 : Loops 11-Oct-13 ©Rob Miles 2
Loops
• We create a loop so that we can repeat one
or more statements
• A condition is used to determine whether
or not the loop stops
• The condition is either true or false, just
like that used in an if construction
Chapter 6.2 : Loops 11-Oct-13 ©Rob Miles 3
A Stupid Loop
• We can write never ending loops if we like:
do
Console.WriteLine ("Har har");
while (true);
• This loop will never finish (use CTRL+C to
kill a program if it does this..
Chapter 6.2 : Loops 11-Oct-13 ©Rob Miles 4
The do – while loop
• do-while continues while the condition is true
int i = 0;
do {
Console.WriteLine (i);
i = i + 1;
} while ( i < 4 );
• We can use a block to get more than one
statement repeated
Chapter 6.2 : Loops 11-Oct-13 ©Rob Miles 5
Another Stupid Loop
• We can write “non loops” if we like:
do
Console.WriteLine ("Har har");
while (false);
• In this case the loop will not repeat, but it
will execute once as the test is at the end
• Remember that statements are executed in
sequence
Chapter 6.2 : Loops 11-Oct-13 ©Rob Miles 6
Doing the test at the end of the loop
• In the do – while loop the test to see if the
loop continues is performed after the
statements in the loop have been
performed
• This is useful if you want the code to do
something and then check the result
– For example if you were reading numbers in
from a user..
Chapter 6.2 : Loops 11-Oct-13 ©Rob Miles 7
Reading in Numbers
do {
Console.Write("Enter width:");
widthString = Console.ReadLine();
width = double.Parse(widthString);
} while ((width<0) || (width>3.0));
• This will repeatedly read the width value
until a valid one is entered
• Make sure you test with invalid values too
Chapter 6.2 : Loops 11-Oct-13 ©Rob Miles 8
Doing the test first
• Sometimes you want to do the test before
you perform the loop code
• There is a C# construction for this too:
while (false)
Console.WriteLine("Never Printed");
• Note that the word do is not required
• Note that the statement could be a block
Chapter 6.2 : Loops 11-Oct-13 ©Rob Miles 9
For loops
• We have already seen how we can create
code which will repeat something a
particular number of times
• However, since this is something that we
need to do a lot, C# provides a special
constructions for this, the for loop
Chapter 6.2 : Loops 11-Oct-13 ©Rob Miles 10
The For loop
• The for loop has the following form:
for ( setup ; finish test ; update ) {
// things we want to do a given
// number of times
}
• The setup, finish test, and update are
added to get the loop that we want
Chapter 6.2 : Loops 11-Oct-13 ©Rob Miles 11
A working For Loop
int i ;
for ( i = 1 ; i < 11 ; i = i+1 )
{
Console.WriteLine ( "Hello" ) ;
}
• This will print out Hello 10 times
• When the value in i reaches 11 the loop
stops
Chapter 6.2 : Loops 11-Oct-13 ©Rob Miles 12
A stupid For Loop
int i ;
for ( i = 0 ; i < 11 ; i = i-1 )
{
Console.WriteLine ( "Hello" ) ;
}
• This will print out Hello for ever because
the control variable is updated in the
wrong direction
Chapter 6.2 : Loops 11-Oct-13 ©Rob Miles 13
Another stupid For Loop
int i ;
for ( i = 0 ; i < 11 ; i = i+1 )
{
Console.WriteLine ( "Hello" ) ;
i = 0;
}
• This will print out Hello for ever because
the control variable is reset in the code
inside the loop
Chapter 6.2 : Loops 11-Oct-13 ©Rob Miles 14
Breaking out
int i ;
for ( i = 0 ; i < 11 ; i = i+1 )
{
Console.WriteLine ( "Hello" ) ;
if ( i==3 ) break;
}
• The break keyword lets us escape from any loop
• You can use it in do-while, while and for loops
Chapter 6.2 : Loops 11-Oct-13 ©Rob Miles 15
Continuing
int i ;
for ( i = 0 ; i < 11 ; i = i+1 )
{
Console.WriteLine ( "Hello" ) ;
if ( i==3 ) continue;
Console.WriteLine ( "Not 3" ) ;
}
• The continue keyword takes us back to the
"top" of any loop
Chapter 6.2 : Loops 11-Oct-13 ©Rob Miles 16
Summary
• We now have the three fundamental loop
constructions
• The trick with programming is to use the
construction which is appropriate to the
task in hand
• You can make the code work with any loop
design
Chapter 6.2 : Loops 11-Oct-13 ©Rob Miles 17
