Getting Started: The Basic Elements of C++

1.4.1 The while Statement

A while statement provides for iterative execution. We could use a while to write a program to sum the numbers from 1 through 10 inclusive as follows:

    #include <iostream>
    int main()
    {
        int sum = 0, val = 1;
        // keep executing the 
   while 
   until 
   val 
   is greater than 10
        while (val <= 10) {
            sum += val;  // assigns 
   sum + val 
   to 
   sum
            ++val;       // add 
   1 
   to 
   val
        }
        std::cout << "Sum of 1 to 10 inclusive is "
                  << sum << std::endl;
        return 0;
    }

This program when compiled and executed will print:

   
   Sum of 1 to 10 inclusive is 55

As before, we begin by including the iostream header and define a main function. Inside main we define two int variables: sum, which will hold our summation, and val, which will represent each of the values from 1 through 10. We give sum an initial value of zero and start val off with the value one.

The important part is the while statement. A while has the form

   while (condition) while_body_statement;

A while executes by (repeatedly) testing the condition and executing the associated while_body_statement until the condition is false.

A condition is an expression that is evaluated so that its result can be tested. If the resulting value is nonzero, then the condition is true; if the value is zero then the condition is false.

If the condition is true (the expression evaluates to a value other than zero) then while_body_statement is executed. After executing while_body_statement, the condition is tested again. If condition remains true, then the while_body_statement is again executed. The while continues, alternatively testing the condition and executing while_body_statement until the condition is false.

In this program, the while statement is:

    // keep executing the 
   while 
   until 
   val 
   is greater than 10
    while (val <= 10) {
        sum += val; // assigns 
   sum + val 
   to 
   sum
        ++val; // add 
   1 
   to 
   val
    }

The condition in the while uses the less-than-or-equal operator (the <= operator) to compare the current value of val and 10. As long as val is less than or equal to 10, we execute the body of the while. In this case, the body of the while is a block containing two statements:

    {
        sum += val; // assigns 
   sum + val 
   to 
   sum
        ++val; // add 
   1 
   to 
   val
    }

A block is a sequence of statements enclosed by curly braces. In C++, a block may be used wherever a statement is expected. The first statement in the block uses the compound assignment operator, (the += operator). This operator adds its right-hand operand to its left-hand operand. It has the same effect as writing an addition and an assignment:

    sum = sum + val; // assign 
   sum + val 
   to 
   sum

Thus, the first statement adds the value of val to the current value of sum and stores the result back into sum.

The next statement

    ++val; // add 
   1 
   to 
   val

uses the prefix increment operator (the ++ operator). The increment operator adds one to its operand. Writing ++val is the same as writing val = val + 1.

After executing the while body we again execute the condition in the while. If the (now incremented) value of val is still less than or equal to 10, then the body of the while is executed again. The loop continues, testing the condition and executing the body, until val is no longer less than or equal to 10.

Once val is greater than 10, we fall out of the while loop and execute the statement following the while. In this case, that statement prints our output, followed by the return, which completes our main program.

1.4.2 The for Statement

In our while loop, we used the variable val to control how many times we iterated through the loop. On each pass through the while, the value of val was tested and then in the body the value of val was incremented.

The use of a variable like val to control a loop happens so often that the language defines a second control structure, called a for statement, that abbreviates the code that manages the loop variable. We could rewrite the program to sum the numbers from 1 through 10 using a for loop as follows:

    #include <iostream>
    int main()
    {
        int sum = 0;
        // sum values from 1 up to 10 inclusive
        for (int val = 1; val <= 10; ++val)
            sum += val; // equivalent to 
   sum = sum + val

        std::cout << "Sum of 1 to 10 inclusive is "
                  << sum << std::endl;
        return 0;
    }

Prior to the for loop, we define sum, which we set to zero. The variable val is used only inside the iteration and is defined as part of the for statement itself. The for statement

    for (int val = 1; val <= 10; ++val)
        sum += val; // equivalent to 
   sum = sum + val

has two parts: the for header and the for body. The header controls how often the body is executed. The header itself consists of three parts: an init-statement, a condition, and an expression. In this case, the init-statement

    int val = 1;

defines an int object named val and gives it an initial value of one. The initstatement is performed only once, on entry to the for. The condition

    val <= 10

which compares the current value in val to 10, is tested each time through the loop. As long as val is less than or equal to 10, we execute the for body. Only after executing the body is the expression executed. In this for, the expression uses the prefix increment operator, which as we know adds one to the value of val. After executing the expression, the for retests the condition. If the new value of val is still less than or equal to 10, then the for loop body is executed and val is incremented again. Execution continues until the condition fails.

In this loop, the for body performs the summation

  sum += val; // equivalent to 
   sum = sum + val

The body uses the compound assignment operator to add the current value of val to sum, storing the result back into sum.

To recap, the overall execution flow of this for is:

1. Create val and initialize it to 1.
2. Test whether val is less than or equal to 10.
3. If val is less than or equal to 10, execute the for body, which adds val to sum. If val is not less than or equal to 10, then break out of the loop and continue execution with the first statement following the for body.
4. Increment val.
5. Repeat the test in step 2, continuing with the remaining steps as long as the condition is true.

1.4.3 The if Statement

A logical extension of summing the values between 1 and 10 is to sum the values between two numbers our user supplies. We might use the numbers directly in our for loop, using the first input as the lower bound for the range and the second as the upper bound. However, if the user gives us the higher number first, that strategy would fail: Our program would exit the for loop immediately. Instead, we should adjust the range so that the larger number is the upper bound and the smaller is the lower. To do so, we need a way to see which number is larger.

Like most languages, C++ provides an if statement that supports conditional execution. We can use an if to write our revised sum program:

    #include <iostream>
    int main()
    {
        std::cout << "Enter two numbers:" << std::endl;
        int v1, v2;
        std::cin >> v1 >> v2; // read input
        // use smaller number as lower bound for summation
        // and larger number as upper bound
        int lower, upper;
        if (v1 <= v2) {
            lower = v1;
            upper = v2;
        } else {
            lower = v2;
            upper = v1;
        }
        int sum = 0;
        // sum values from lower up to and including upper
        for (int val = lower; val <= upper; ++val)
             sum += val; // sum = sum + val

        std::cout << "Sum of " << lower
                  << " to " << upper
                  << " inclusive is "
                  << sum << std::endl;
        return 0;
    }

If we compile and execute this program and give it as input the numbers 7 and 3, then the output of our program will be

  
   Sum of 3 to 7 inclusive is 25

Most of the code in this program should already be familiar from our earlier examples. The program starts by writing a prompt to the user and defines four int variables. It then reads from the standard input into v1 and v2. The only new code is the if statement

    // use smaller number as lower bound for summation
    // and larger number as upper bound
    int lower, upper;
    if (v1 <= v2) {
        lower = v1;
        upper = v2;
    } else {
        lower = v2;
        upper = v1;
    }

The effect of this code is to set upper and lower appropriately. The if condition tests whether v1 is less than or equal to v2. If so, we perform the block that immediately follows the condition. This block contains two statements, each of which does an assignment. The first statement assigns v1 to lower and the second assigns v2 to upper.

If the condition is false—that is, if v1 is larger than v2—then we execute the statement following the else. Again, this statement is a block consisting of two assignments. We assign v2 to lower and v1 to upper.

1.4.4 Reading an Unknown Number of Inputs

Another change we might make to our summation program on page 12 would be to allow the user to specify a set of numbers to sum. In this case we can't know how many numbers we'll be asked to add. Instead, we want to keep reading numbers until the program reaches the end of the input. When the input is finished, the program writes the total to the standard output:

    #include <iostream>
    int main()
    {
        int sum = 0, value;
        // read till end-of-file, calculating a running total of all values read
        while (std::cin >> value)
            sum += value; // equivalent to sum = sum + value
        std::cout << "Sum is: " << sum << std::endl;
        return 0;
     }

If we give this program the input

  
   3 4 5 6

then our output will be

  
   Sum is: 18

As usual, we begin by including the necessary headers. The first line inside main defines two int variables, named sum and value. We'lluse value to hold each number we read, which we do inside the condition in the while:

  while (std::cin >> value)

What happens here is that to evaluate the condition, the input operation

  std::cin >> value

is executed, which has the effect of reading the next number from the standard input, storing what was read in value. The input operator (Section 1.2.2, p. 8) returns its left operand. The condition tests that result, meaning it tests std::cin.

When we use an istream as a condition, the effect is to test the state of the stream. If the stream is valid—that is, if it is still possible to read another input— then the test succeeds. An istream becomes invalid when we hit end-of-file or encounter an invalid input, such as reading a value that is not an integer. An istream that is in an invalid state will cause the condition to fail.

Until we do encounter end-of-file (or some other input error), the test will succeed and we'll execute the body of the while. That body is a single statement that uses the compound assignment operator. This operator adds its right-hand operand into the left hand operand.

Once the test fails, the while terminates and we fall through and execute the statement following the while. That statement prints sum followed by endl, which prints a newline and flushes the buffer associated with cout. Finally, we execute the return, which as usual returns zero to indicate success.