โControl Flow in Cโ is the backbone of the Code Execution and the sequential driving of statements written in any specific code. Beyond that, the control flow statement is instrumental in making any decision in the C program that affects the entire program.
We need to understand how to implement the program logic properly. Here, is when the control statements in C come to play!
In this article, we will discuss all the control statements present in the C programming language. So, let’s get started!
Summary Of The Article:
The control flow in a C program is determined with the help of the control statements in C.
The control statements in C can be categorized into different types – conditional statements, looping statements, and jump statements.
Control statements help us in the decision-making process which results in effective and reliable code.
What Is Control Flow In C Programming?
Control flow in C simply translates to the ‘flow of control’ in a program. So, what is the flow of control in C programming? Well, it is the concept that determines which statements should be executed in a particular order.
Let us consider a real-world example to understand this better. In a calculator, we are presented with various operations like addition, subtraction, division, and more. However, a particular operation is used based on the user’s choice.
So, how do we decide which operation to use? For this, we have various conditional statements and loops. Control flow is achieved using these, which we’ll see in the next sections of this article.
What Are The Control Statements In C Programming?
The Control Flow Statements or Control Statements in C are used to make the change in the control flow of any program. It tells the code which lines are to be executed.
In any program, if there is a need to execute a few customized statements, then you have to write down some customized conditions to make changes in the flow control of the program. If the condition is true, a specific set of statements will be executed.
Based on the condition used & the type of control flow that can be seen, the Control Statements in C are divided into three major categories. The categories are the following:
Conditional Statements: They can be called conditional control statements as well and can be further divided into the following parts.
Simple If Statement
If-Else Statement
Nested If Statement
Switch Statement
Looping Statements or Iteration Statements: They can also be named loop control statements and can be further divided into three parts.
While Loop Control Statement
For Loop Control Statement
Do-While Loop Control Statement
Jump Statements: These control statements in C are divided into the following:
Break Statement
Continue Statement
Goto Statement
Let us know about all of them one by one briefly. Are you ready? Let’s dive in!
What Are Conditional Statements Or Control Flow Statements In C & Its Different Types?
The control statements or the Conditional Statements are the same thing. The statements that are controlled by any kind of condition are known as the Control Statements. The Control Statements are used to make the change in the control flow of any program.
In any program, if there is a need to execute a few customized statements, then you have to write down some customized conditions to make changes in the flow control of the program. If the condition is true, a specific set of statements will be executed.
Based on the condition used & the type of control flow that can be seen, the Control Statements are divided into major three categories. The categories are the following:
Decision-Making Statements (Else-If Statements): It can be further divided into three parts.
Simple If Statement
Else-If Statement
Nested If Statement
Loop Statements: Again, it can be further divided into three parts.
While Loop Control
For Loop Control
Do-While Loop Control
Switch Statements
Let us know about all of them one by one briefly. We will start with the Decision-Making Statements.
What Are Decision-Making Statements In C Language?
The decision-making control statement is deepened upon the use of the If-Else block in the C language. Along with the If statement, we have to put the condition as the argument. If the condition is true, the statements written inside that block will get executed sequentially.
The If-Else statements can be written differently and based on their use, it is divided into three categories. In each of the cases, the control flow goes differently. Let us check the declaration process of decision-making control statements with sample examples.
How To Declare Normal If Statement In C Language?
For the declaration of normal if statements, there is no need to take pressure. You have to just define the condition which will be the factor to determine the flow of control. If the condition is false, the statements under the if block will not be executed.
If you need, you can also declare repeating if statements in the program. In that case, the control flow will first check the first if condition, if it is true the statements will be executed. Otherwise, the control flow will come to the next condition in the program.
General Syntax: if(condition){Statements}
#include
int main()
{
int coding, zap; // Variable Declaration
printf("Enter Two Numbers: ");
scanf("%d%d", &coding, &zap); // Taking Two Numbers
if(coding==zap) // If Condition Statement
{
printf("Two Numbers Are Equal");
}
return 0;
}
Steps Of The Program:
-
At first, two variables are declared in the program.
-
Now, we will take the variable values from the users & it will be saved.
-
Now, the If Condition will be developed. We will check two numbers are equal or not.
-
If the numbers are equal, a statement will be printed. The control flow will get inside the If Block.
-
If the condition is false, then the control flow will come to the return statements.
Output:
From the above output, we can see that the user has given two same numbers to the program. As the If Condition becomes true, the print statement will be printed in the program. So, the condition works properly in the code.
How To Declare If-Else Block In C Language?
The declaration of the If-Else block is as easy as declaring a simple If Condition. You have to just remember that there will be no condition present after the Else Statement. If the condition presented after the if statement is false, then the control flow will go inside the Else Block automatically.
It is also called the branching statement as the flow control reveals some branches. It will be cleared with the sample example that has been declared below.
#include
int main()
{
int coding, zap; // Variable Declaration
printf("Enter Two Numbers: ");
scanf("%d%d", &coding, &zap); // Taking Two Numbers
if(coding > zap) // If Condition Statement
{
printf("Coding Is Greater Than Zap");
}
else // Else Condition
{
printf("Zap Is Greater Than Coding");
}
return 0;
}
Steps Of The Program:
At first, two variables are declared in the program.
Now, we will take the variable values from the users & they will be saved in the variable.
Now, the If Condition will be developed. We will check which number is greater.
If the condition is satisfied, the statement under the If block will be executed as the Control Flow will come to there.
Otherwise, the control flow will go directly inside the Else Block & the statement will be printed.
Output:
From the above output, we can see that the first number entered in the program is greater than the second number. So, the If Condition should be satisfied. As a result, the control flow goes inside the If Block & the statement gets printed.
How To Declare Nested If Statement In C Language?
The nested If Condition is one of the advanced uses of the If-Else statement. In this case, inside of one If or Else block, another If-Else block will be declared. The control flow goes like if the outer condition is satisfied, then it will come into the block and check the condition of the inner if-else.
If the inner if-else condition is true, then the control flow will again enter into the block and work on there. Sometimes, it takes the ladder-like structure while we make the flow control. We have a sample code there for your easy understanding.
#include
int main()
{
int coding, zap; // Variable Declaration
printf("Enter Two Numbers: ");
scanf("%d%d", &coding, &zap); // Taking Two Numbers
if(coding > zap) // If Condition Statement
{
if(coding > 0) // Nested Condition
{
printf("Coding Is Greater Than Zap & Zero");
}
}
else // Else Condition Statement
{
if(zap > 0) // Nested Condition
{
printf("Zap Is Greater Than Coding & Zero");
}
}
return 0;
}
Steps Of The Program:
At first, two variables are declared in the program.
Now, we will take the variable values from the users & they will be saved in the variable.
Now, the If Condition will be developed. We will check which number is greater.
Under that if condition, we have developed another if condition which will check whether the number is greater than zero or not.
If the condition is satisfied, the print statement will get worked.
Otherwise, the control flow will go inside the Else Block. It will check the condition present in the Else block.
If the condition is true, it will print the value.
Output:
From the above output, we can see that the user has entered the first element higher than the second element. If both of the element is greater than zero means a positive number. So, the first nested condition will be the required result.
What Are Loop Statements In C Language?
The Loop Statement is the statement that executes in a loop until the condition present in the program is satisfied. That is the reason, in the loop statement declaration process, we have to think about the control flow as the flow of execution is not a normal flow here.
We need to also declare an expression in the program that helps to meet the condition to end the loop. There are three types of loops present in the C Coding Language. They are the While Loop, For Loop, and Do-While Loop. We will know all of them one by one with a sample example.
How To Declare While Loop In C Language?
The while loop declaration is one of the most simple ones. We have to first declare one condition before the starting of the loop. Inside the loop body, we have to write down an expression that will help to make the condition false at any point of the time in the program.
The Contro Flow will check first the condition, if the condition is satisfied, then the loop body will get executed.
General Syntax: while (condition)
#include
int main()
{
int coding, i=0; // Variable Declaration
printf("Enter Number: ");
scanf("%d", &coding); // Taking Two Numbers
while (i
Steps Of The Program:
At first, we will take the number from the users & it will be saved in the variable.
We have declared another key variable with a zero value for implementing the condition.
Now, in the while loop, the condition will be checked. If the value is less than the input number, the inner loop body will get executed.
The flow control will get inside the loop & the print statement will be done.
At last, the key variable value will be increased by 1. So, that at one point, the key variable value becomes greater than the input value.
Output:
From the above output, we can see that the inner loop body statement is only printed five times. That means, five times the condition was true. After that, the condition becomes false. So, the printing has not been done.
Understanding loops is crucial for tasks like generating sequences. For instance, learn how to implement the Fibonacci series in C using iterative methods.
How To Declare For Loop In C Language?
The for loop concept is similar to the While Loop, just all the expression is declared in a single statement. In the while loop, we have to declare the condition separately. But in the case of the For Loop, the condition & expression will be developed altogether.
In this case, we have to first mark the key variable value. Then, using the semicolon, we have to write down the condition. And later, the expression we need to write in that single statement. Do check the syntax for the same.
General Syntax: for(variable declaration; condition; expression)
#include
int main()
{
int coding,i; // Variable Declaration
printf("Enter Number: ");
scanf("%d", &coding); // Taking Two Numbers
for (i=0; i
Steps Of The Program:
At first, a variable value will be taken that will be used to end the condition of the for loop. Till that number, the for loop will be executed.
Now, the for loop will be declared with the key variable starting from the zero value.
We have put the condition that until the key value becomes greater than the input number, the loop will get executed.
After each execution, the expression is evaluated & the condition is again checked. If the condition is correct, the loop body will again be printed.
Output:
From the above output, we can see that the print statement is printed three times. The user has inserted the value as 3. So, the condition is satisfied three times. After that, the condition becomes false & the execution gets stopped.
How To Declare Do-While Loop In C Language?
The Do-While Loop is similar to the simple while loop. Here, a difference is that the condition is checked at the end of the execution. In this loop, the first iteration gets executed without checking the condition. So, if the condition is false, then the loop will iterate only one time.
General Syntax: do{}while(condition);
#include
int main()
{
int coding,i=0; // Variable Declaration
printf("Enter Number: ");
scanf("%d", &coding); // Taking Two Numbers
do // Do-While Loop
{
printf("Example Of Do While Loop\n"); // Printing Statement
i++; // Expression
}while(i
Steps Of The Program:
At first, the number will be taken from the users till the loop will get executed.
Now, the do-while loop will be implemented. We will write some statements inside the loop body.
Also, we will write an expression as we have done for earlier cases.
At the end, the condition will be declared after the while keyword.
Also, don’t forget to add the semicolon after the condition is declared.
Output:
From the above screenshot, we can see that the number of printed statements is as same as the input number the user has been given. So, the most basic loop body works well as well and the condition checking has been done properly.
What Is Switch Statement In C Language?
The switch statements work with the case statement. That is the reason, it is known as the Switch-Case Statements. We have to provide some value to the switch expression. As per the value, the case label will be executed. This will make the multilevel branching of the program.
It is the extended version of the If-Else Statement. Also, there is a default label present. If any of the labels don’t match with the switch expression, the default label will get executed. We have to use the Break Statements after writing each label.
#include
int main()
{
int coding; // Variable Declaration
printf("Enter Number: ");
scanf("%d", &coding); // Taking Two Numbers
switch(coding)
{
case 1: printf("It Is One Number"); break;
case 2: printf("It Is Two Number"); break;
case 3: printf("It Is Three Number"); break;
case 4: printf("It Is Four Number"); break;
case 5: printf("It Is Five Number"); break;
default: printf("Out Of Range");
}
return 0;
}
Steps Of The Program:
At first, a number will be taken from the user & it will be saved in one variable.
Now, that number will be put as the expression of the Switch condition.
We will make a few labels with the Case Statements. And after each label, we will write the Break Statements.
If any one of the labels doesn’t match, we will use the default label.
Output:
From the above output, we can see that the user has provided the number 3 as the input. So, the label 3 will be activated. The print statement with that label will be executed. The other label will not work in this case including the default as the break statement is used.
What Are The Jump Statements In C Language?
The Jump Statement is the statement that makes changes in the flow control but without any customized condition. That means, in this case, there is no need to involve any condition. All of the Jump Statements are the keywords of C coding language that can be used in any program.
The main purpose of the Jump Elements is to change the flow control of the program. If the jump elements are encountered, the flow will skip some of the parts of the program. For each case, the flow control works in a different manner.
There are three jump elements present. They are the following:
Break Statement: The Break Statement use we have already seen in the Switch Statement case. Here, if the break statement is encountered, the control flow will come out from any kind of loop or execution. And the flow control starts work after that loop.
Continue Statement: The Continue Statements work as the opposite of the Break Statement. Here, the Continue Statements help to skip a single loop execution. And the next iteration of the loop stars.
Goto Statement: The Goto Statements or Jumping Statements work with the help of the label. You can put the label into the code at any location. The Goto Statement will help to pass the flow control to the location where the label is placed.
Conclusion:
As we saw, the “Control Flow in C coding language” is very important to know.
If the conditional statements are clear to you, then you can easily move to any little advanced topic. You have to remember that without using conditional statements, no problem can be solved in the C coding language. So, practice is as much as possible.
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