While Loops Part 1.

What does a while loop do?

A while loop repeatedly executes a target statement as long as a given condition is TRUE. In this context, a statement is a unit of code that performs a pre-determined task.

Syntax:

while (condition)
{
         statement(s);
         // statements have to be true for the code block to run
}

In the above example, statement(s);, is a single statement or a block of statements.

The (condition) is any expression, and true is any other value other than zero0. The loop repeats while the (condition) is true.

Also, the statement(s); need to be updated, i.e incremented or decremented. Otherwise, the loop will run infinitely as the statement(s); will always return a value that's true.

When the condition becomes false, the program control passes to the statement immediately following the loop. Basically, the loop stops.

Sample Code:

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void)
{
    int x = 0;

    while (x < 12)   //while (condition)
    {
        printf("%d \n", x);   //(statement); -prints an integer if condition is true
        x++;     //(updation); -increments the integer
    }

    return(0);
}