Re: Checking the loop variable after the loop has ended (Was: Loops (was Re: do { quit; } else { }))

On Fri, 18 Apr 2025 13:58:08 +0000, Kenny McCormack wrote:

In article <vtrvc6$mjoi$1@dont-email.me>,
Lew Pitcher  <lew.pitcher@digitalfreehold.ca> wrote:
...

    for (i=0; i<10; i++) { code that might or might not break }
    if (i == 10) puts("It ended normally");

>
It's also a handy idiom for a compact list search loop
where the terminating condition is either end of the list, or
a matched entry.
If the cursor isn't the end-of-list marker, then it references
the matched entry;

 
Indeed.  This is the common case - where you are looking for something, and
if you find it, you break out of the loop (one way or another).  If you
don't find it, then the loop terminates "normally" - and you need to catch
that case.
 

 for (n = NUM_ENTRIES; (n >= 0) && (node[n] != key); --n) continue;
 if (n != -1) printf("Found key at entry %d\n",n);

 
Bart won't like the way you've abused C's "for" statement syntax

I've long since stopped caring what Bart does or doesn't like. :-)

to your own devious ends...

I'll give you another devious one :-)

  #include <stdio.h>
  #include <stdlib.h>
  int main(void)
  {
    double nc;

    for (nc = 0; getchar() != EOF; ++nc)
      ;

    printf("%.0f\n",nc);

    return 0;
  }

(transcribed and updated for modern C from a 1978 edition of
"The C Programming Language" by Kernighan and Ritchie)

(But I like it)

As do I. It is succinct, complies with the syntax of the C language,
and achieves the desired algorithmic goal.
 
--
Lew Pitcher
"In Skills We Trust"