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6.10: Principles of Loop Design

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    58027
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    Before moving on, it will be useful to summarize the main principles involved in correctly constructing a loop.

    A counting loop can be used whenever you know in advance exactly how many iterations are needed. Java’s for statement is an appropriate structure for coding a counting loop.

    A while structure should be used when the problem suggests that the loop body may be skipped entirely. Java’s while statement is specially designed for the while structure.

    A do-while structure should be used only when a loop requires one or more iterations. Java’s do-while statement is specially designed for the do-while structure.

    The loop variable is used to specify the loop-entry condition. It must be initialized to an appropriate initial value, and it must be updated on each iteration of the loop.

    A loop’s bound may be a count, a sentinel, or, more generally, a conditional bound. It must be correctly specified in the loop-entry expression, and progress toward the bound must be made in the updater.

    An infinite loop may result if the initializer, loop-entry expression, or updater expression is not correctly specified.

    The loop types are also summarized in Table 6.1.

    lll
    Use &If &Java Statement

    Counting loop &Number of iterations known in advance &for

    While structure &Number of iterations not known &while &Loop may not be entered at all &

    Do-while structure &Number of iterations not known &do-while &Loop must be entered at least once &

    For each of the following problems, decide whether a counting loop structure, a while structure, or a do-while structure should be used, and write a pseudocode algorithm.

    • Print the names of all visitors to your Web site.
    • Validate that a number input by the user is positive.
    • Change all the backslashes (\(\backslash\)) in a Windows Web page address to the slashes (/) used in a Unix Web page address.
    • Find the car with the best miles-per-gallon ratio among the cars in the Consumer Reports database.

    This page titled 6.10: Principles of Loop Design is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Ralph Morelli & Ralph Wade via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.