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STUDENT NOTES · C & C++ WEEK 2 OF 8
Loops & Functions, C Style 🔁
The logic you know from Python — wearing C's armor: brackets, braces and types everywhere.
1The C for loop — three instructions in one line
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Chip: for (start; keep-going-while; step) — where the counter begins, when to stop, how to move. All the loop's rules up front.
2Loops doing real work
3while — repeat until the test fails
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Bugly: Forget count-- and the countdown never ends. Some traps are universal. Hehehe.
4Functions — with type name tags
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Professor Hoot: int add(...) promises: this function returns an int. C checks that promise at compile time — no surprises later.
5Recursion — the function that calls itself
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Chip: fact(4) = 4 × fact(3) = 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 24. It dives down to the base case (n <= 1), then multiplies its way back up.
6Quick quiz! 🧠
for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) — how many times does the body run?
💡 i takes 0, 1, 2 — three rounds. Stops when i < 3 fails.
void as a return type means…
💡 void = "expect nothing back". Like Python functions without return… but declared honestly up front.
7Your mission 🚀
Mission 1: Print the table of any number using a for loop.
Mission 2: Write int square(int x) and print square(9).
Mission 3: Write a countdown from 10 that ends with "LIFTOFF!" — using while.
Week 2 complete — loop commander! 🔁
Next: arrays and strings — and C's famous missing seatbelts.
Go to Week 3: Arrays & Strings →