C++ Primer Plus

Parts of a for Loop

A for loop provides a step-by-step recipe for performing repeated actions. Let’s take a more detailed look at how it’s set up. The usual parts of a for loop handle these steps:

1. Setting a value initially

2. Performing a test to see whether the loop should continue

3. Executing the loop actions

4. Updating value(s) used for the test

The C++ loop design positions these elements so that you can spot them at a glance. The initialization, test, and update actions constitute a three-part control section enclosed in parentheses. Each part is an expression, and semicolons separate the expressions from each other. The statement following the control section is called the body of the loop, and it is executed as long as the test expression ...