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241Relational operators: == and !=
242Relational operators: <, <=, >, and >=
243Truthiness: 0 is false, non-zero is true
244The if statement syntax
245The else clause for alternative paths
246Else-if ladders for multiple conditions
247Logical AND (&&) for combined conditions
248Logical OR (||) for combined conditions
249Logical NOT (!) for inversion
250Curly brace requirements for single vs multi-line
251Variable scope inside if-else blocks
252The ternary operator (?:) as a shortcut
253Short-circuit evaluation in logical AND
254Short-circuit evaluation in logical OR
255Common mistake: assignment (=) vs equality (==)
256Nested if statements and dangling else logic
257Using if statements for input validation
258Basic switch syntax and cases
259The role of the break statement in switch
260The default case for unhandled values
261Fall-through behavior: intentional and accidental
262Switch restrictions: integral types only
263Grouping multiple cases into one block
264Comparing switch-case vs else-if ladders
265Switch statement best practices
266The while loop syntax and execution flow
267The loop condition: when to stop
268Updating the loop variable to avoid infinite loops
269Using while for indeterminate iterations
270Reading input until EOF with while
271Infinite loops: while(1) and while(true)
272Common error: semicolon after while header
273Tracing while loop execution on paper
274The do-while syntax and the trailing semicolon
275Guaranteed execution: why do-while is different
276Using do-while for menu-driven programs
277Using do-while for input re-prompting
278Converting a while loop to a do-while
279Comparing while vs do-while use cases
280Scope of variables declared inside do-while
281Pitfall: condition check occurs after execution
282The three parts of a for loop header
283Initialization, condition, and increment flow
284Using the for loop as a counter
285Scope of the loop variable in C99 vs C89
286Counting backwards with decrement operators
287Using non-unit increments (e.g., i += 2)
288The comma operator in for loop headers
289Optional components: the for(;;) infinite loop
290The break statement: exiting a loop early
291The continue statement: skipping to the next iteration
292Continue in while vs for loops
293Using break to exit infinite loops on condition
294Using continue to skip invalid data entries
295The performance impact of loop controls
296Readability: when to avoid excessive breaks
297Alternative patterns to avoid break and continue
298Introduction to loops inside loops
299Inner loop vs outer loop execution order
300Using nested loops to print 2D grids
301Nested loops for multiplication tables
302The 'triangle' pattern logic
303Controlling the inner loop with outer loop variables
304Performance: O(n^2) complexity introduction
305Breaking out of nested loops: the limitation of break
306Defining labels in C code
307The syntax of the goto statement
308Why goto is generally discouraged
309Legitimate use case: breaking out of nested loops
310Legitimate use case: error cleanup blocks
311The dangers of 'spaghetti code'
312Function returns as a control flow mechanism
313Exiting the program with exit()
314The Sentinel Value pattern
315The Flag Variable pattern
316The Accumulator pattern (summing values)
317The Counter pattern (counting occurrences)
318Finding Min and Max in a loop
319The Fencepost problem (off-by-one errors)
320Floating point precision issues in loop conditions
321Choosing the right loop for the task

241Relational operators: == and !=
242Relational operators: <, <=, >, and >=
243Truthiness: 0 is false, non-zero is true
244The if statement syntax
245The else clause for alternative paths
246Else-if ladders for multiple conditions
247Logical AND (&&) for combined conditions
248Logical OR (||) for combined conditions
249Logical NOT (!) for inversion
250Curly brace requirements for single vs multi-line
251Variable scope inside if-else blocks
252The ternary operator (?:) as a shortcut
253Short-circuit evaluation in logical AND
254Short-circuit evaluation in logical OR
255Common mistake: assignment (=) vs equality (==)
256Nested if statements and dangling else logic
257Using if statements for input validation
258Basic switch syntax and cases
259The role of the break statement in switch
260The default case for unhandled values
261Fall-through behavior: intentional and accidental
262Switch restrictions: integral types only
263Grouping multiple cases into one block
264Comparing switch-case vs else-if ladders
265Switch statement best practices
266The while loop syntax and execution flow
267The loop condition: when to stop
268Updating the loop variable to avoid infinite loops
269Using while for indeterminate iterations
270Reading input until EOF with while
271Infinite loops: while(1) and while(true)
272Common error: semicolon after while header
273Tracing while loop execution on paper
274The do-while syntax and the trailing semicolon
275Guaranteed execution: why do-while is different
276Using do-while for menu-driven programs
277Using do-while for input re-prompting
278Converting a while loop to a do-while
279Comparing while vs do-while use cases
280Scope of variables declared inside do-while
281Pitfall: condition check occurs after execution
282The three parts of a for loop header
283Initialization, condition, and increment flow
284Using the for loop as a counter
285Scope of the loop variable in C99 vs C89
286Counting backwards with decrement operators
287Using non-unit increments (e.g., i += 2)
288The comma operator in for loop headers
289Optional components: the for(;;) infinite loop
290The break statement: exiting a loop early
291The continue statement: skipping to the next iteration
292Continue in while vs for loops
293Using break to exit infinite loops on condition
294Using continue to skip invalid data entries
295The performance impact of loop controls
296Readability: when to avoid excessive breaks
297Alternative patterns to avoid break and continue
298Introduction to loops inside loops
299Inner loop vs outer loop execution order
300Using nested loops to print 2D grids
301Nested loops for multiplication tables
302The 'triangle' pattern logic
303Controlling the inner loop with outer loop variables
304Performance: O(n^2) complexity introduction
305Breaking out of nested loops: the limitation of break
306Defining labels in C code
307The syntax of the goto statement
308Why goto is generally discouraged
309Legitimate use case: breaking out of nested loops
310Legitimate use case: error cleanup blocks
311The dangers of 'spaghetti code'
312Function returns as a control flow mechanism
313Exiting the program with exit()
314The Sentinel Value pattern
315The Flag Variable pattern
316The Accumulator pattern (summing values)
317The Counter pattern (counting occurrences)
318Finding Min and Max in a loop
319The Fencepost problem (off-by-one errors)
320Floating point precision issues in loop conditions
321Choosing the right loop for the task

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Lesson 314 of 1,219·4. Control FlowPro lesson

The Sentinel Value pattern

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