What are the benefits of using a while loop over a for loop? When I'm iterating through arrays, I always use a for loop so I wondered if I'm missing something here.
I've never had a situation where a for loop doesn't do the job, but I'm worried that I may be picking up bad habits here. My usage of loops has been with regards to elements on web pages, stuff in animations, etc..
These are the reasons I would choose one over the other:
For-loop Syntax:
for( int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
{
//Some code here
}
I would use a for loop for the reason that I may KNOW the NUMBER OF ITERATIONS I need to do and I have an INCREMENTING variable which can be handy sometimes.
While-loop Syntax:
while(!done)
{
//Some code goes here
}
I would use this loop when I am NOT SURE how many ITERATIONS I might need to carry out. Examples: Waiting for user to input correct input values and keep looping until he/she inputs the proper value.
Do-While loop Syntax:
do
{
//Some code here
}
while(!done);
This loop is almost the same as a while-loop but I would prefer this when I need something done ATLEAST ONCE before I start verifying whatever it is that would make me wanna loop and do that code again. Example: ask a user for an input for the first time and then validate it. If wrong input given then loop back and ask for input again