Control Structures in Programming Languages

A control structure is a method of specifying the flow of control in a computer program.

The three (3) main control structures are:
1. Sequencing
2. Selection
3. Iteration

Sequencing

Sequencing or sequential logic depends on a series of instructions that are executed one after the other.
Example: Baking Bread

Add flour.
Add salt.
Add yeast.
Mix.
Add water.
Knead.
Let rise.
Bake.

Selection

Selection or conditional logic involves a number of conditions or parameters which decides one out of several
written modules. These structures can be of three types:

1. Single Alternative
if (condition){
statement (s);
}

For example: Write a program in C that prints “Thank you!” if the user enters an even number.
#include <stdio.h>

int main(){
int n;
printf("Enter any number: ");
scanf("%d", &n);

if (n%2==0)
printf ("Thank you!");

return 0;
}//main
2. Double Alternative
if (condition){
statement (s);
}
else {
statement (s);
}

For example: Write a program in C that prints “Thank you!” if the user enters an even number, and “Ugh!
You’re annoying” if the user enters an odd number.
int main(){
int n;
printf("Enter any number: ");
scanf("%d", &n);

if (n%2==0){
printf ("Thank you!");
}
else
{
printf("Ugh. You're annoying");
}
return 0;
}//main

3. Multiple Alternatives
if (condition){
statement (s);
}
else if {
statement (s);
}
else if {
statement (s);
}
else if {
statement (s);
}
else {
statement (s);
}

For example: Write a program in C that prompts the user to enter a number. If the number is between 1 to 12,
the program outputs the name of the month that corresponds with the number
(E.g. 1 will produce “January”). If any other number is entered, an appropriate error
message is displayed.

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
int n;
printf("Enter any number: ");
 scanf("%d", &n);

if (n == 1)
printf("January");
else if (n == 2)
printf("February");
else if (n == 3)
printf("March");
else if (n == 4)
printf("April");
else if (n == 5)
printf("May");
else if (n == 6)
printf("June");
else if (n == 7)
printf("July");
else if (n == 8)
printf("August");
else if (n == 9)
printf("September");
else if (n == 10)
printf("October");
else if (n == 11)
printf("November");
else if (n == 12)
printf("December");
else
printf("Invalid Entry!");
return 0;
} //main

Note: Many IF-statements together can become convoluted. C offers a cleaner alternative to nested if-
statements, the switch-case construct which is also a conditional construct. The syntax is as follows:
switch (expression)
{
case constant1:
// statements
break;

case constant2:
// statements
break;
.
.
.
default:
// default statements
}

The previous example can be converted to a switch-case construct in the following way:
#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
int n;
printf("Enter any number: ");
scanf("%d", &n);

switch(n)
{
case 1:
printf("January");
break;
case 2:
printf("February");
break;
case 3:
printf("March");
break;
case 4:
printf("April");
break;
case 5:
printf("May");
break;
case 6:
printf("June");
break;
case 7:
printf("July");
break;
case 8:
printf("August");
break;
case 9:
printf("September");
break;
case 10:
printf("October");
break;
case 11:
printf("November");
break;
case 12:
printf("December");
break;
default: printf("Invalid Entry!");
}
return 0;
} //main
Iteration

Iteration or repetition involves repeating a set of steps as long as a specified condition is true. Iteration is
expressed in the form of for loops and while loops. There are two types of iteration:

1. Bounded Iteration

Bounded iteration is iteration where the number of times has a determined maximum when it is started. This
is typically (but not necessarily) the case in a for loop.

for loops

for (initial_value; condition; increment){

statement(s);
}

For example: Write a program in C that adds the first 10 whole numbers and prints the sum.

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
int sum=0;
for(int i=1; i<=10; i++){
sum = sum + i;
} //for

printf("The sum is %d.", sum);

return 0;
} //main

This represents bounded iteration because at the start of the loop we can tell the loop will execute 10 times
(starting from 1 and ending at 10 inclusive).

while loops
It is possible to convert any for loop to a while because the components (initial_value, condition, increment) are
the same, but the order in which they occur is different.

initial_value;
while (condition){
statement(s);
increment;
}

For example: The for loop above can be converted to a while loop thus:

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
int sum=0;
 int i = 1;
while (i<=10){
sum = sum + i;
i++;
} //for

printf("The sum is %d.", sum);

return 0;
} //main

2. Unbounded Iteration

Unbounded iteration is iteration that does not have a fixed maximum value upon the start of the loop. This is
often (but not always) the case for while loops.

For example: Write a program that prompts the user to enter a number. The program prints “Wrong!”
unless the user enters -1;

int main()
{
int n;
printf("Enter any number:");
scanf("%d", &n);
while (n!=-1){
printf("Wrong!");
printf("Enter any number:");
scanf("%d", &n);
} //for

printf("YEY");
return 0;
} //main

The above code continues to print “Wrong!” until the user enters -1. We cannot predict how many times the
loop will run because it depends on user input and is thus, unbounded.

The Infinite Loop

An infinite loop occurs when the condition that allows entry to the loop is always true. This can be by design or
as a result of programmer error, such as leaving out the increment component of the loop.

For example: This following program will continuously print the statement inside the loop because there is no
condition or incrementation that will allow the program to exit the loop.
#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
while (true)
{
printf("This is an infinite loop");
}
 return 0;
} //main
OPERATORS IN C
Arithmetic Operators
The following table shows all the arithmetic operators supported by the C language. Assume variable A holds
10 and variable B holds 20 then −

Relational Operators
The following table shows all the relational operators supported by C. Assume variable A holds 10 and
variable B holds 20 then –
Logical Operators
Following table shows all the logical operators supported by C language. Assume variable A holds 1 and
variable B holds 0, then –