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Introduction to Computer Science 11

Lesson 3 – Repetition
Goal(s):
To follow the loop design strategy to develop loops
To control a loop with the user confirmation or a sentinel value

Minds On…
Analyze the following code. Is count < 100 always true, always false, or

sometimes true or sometimes false at Point A, Point B, and Point C?

Action …
Key Point
The key to designing a loop is to identify the code that needs to be repeated and write
a condition for terminating the loop.
Writing a correct loop is not an easy task for novice programmers. Consider three
steps when writing a loop.
1. Identify the statements that need to be repeated.
2. Wrap these statements in a loop as follows:

3. Code the loop-continuation-condition and add appropriate statements for

controlling the loop.
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Introduction to Computer Science 11

Key Point
It is a common practice to use a sentinel value to terminate the input.

int count = 0;
while (count < 5)
{
//loop body
}
The preceding example executes the loop five times. If you want the user to decide
whether to continue, you can offer a user confirmation. The template of the program
can be coded as follows:

Another common technique for controlling a loop is to designate a special value when
reading and processing a set of values. This special input value, known as a sentinel
value, signifies the end of the input. A loop that uses a sentinel value to control its
execution is called a sentinel-controlled loop.
The following program reads and calculates the sum of an unspecified number of
integers. The input 0 signifies the end of the input. Do you need to declare a new
variable for each input value? No. Just use a variable named data (line 8) to store the
input value and use a variable
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named sum (line 12) to store the total. When a value is read, assign it to data
(lines 9, 20) and add it to sum (line 15) if it is not zero.

Here is a sample run:

Assessment
1. What will be displayed when the following code is executed?
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Introduction to Computer Science 11

2. Suppose the input is 2 3 4 5 0. What is the output of the following code?

max is 5
number 0

3. Word Matching Exercise

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Introduction to Computer Science 11

Programming Exercise(s)
4. (Math tutor) Write a program that displays a menu as shown in the sample
run.
You can enter 1, 2, 3, or 4 for choosing an addition, subtraction, multiplication, or
division test. After a test is finished, the menu is redisplayed. You may choose
another test or enter 5 to exit the system. Each test generates two random
singledigit numbers to form a question for addition, subtraction, multiplication, or
division. For a subtraction such as number1 – number2, number1 is greater than
or equal to number2. For a division question such as number1 / number2,
number2 is not zero.
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Introduction to Computer Science 11