supposed I have this code
while (true) {
// do things
if (condition) break;
}
if I can always determine that the while loop stops after less than n times during runtime, should I write this instead
for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
// do things
if (condition) break;
}
this is clearly micro optimization and i should not worry about it too much. nevertheless I want to know the answer out of curiosity that if the compiler can use the extra information for some obscure optimizations.
4
Both the while loop and the for loop with a condition to break early are functionally similar but have several differences that could matter in specific scenarios.
- Basic Structure;
while (true) { … }: This loop runs indefinitely until a break statement is encountered. The loop doesn’t inherently have a limit, so the only exit is through the break condition inside the loop.
for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) { … }: This loop runs for a fixed number of iterations (at most n). However, it can exit early if a break statement is encountered.
If you are knowing the upper bound that’s better to use for loop instead of while.
From an optimization perspective, the for loop might give the compiler more information to work with, potentially leading to slight optimizations. However, in most practical scenarios, the difference is minimal.
1
while loop is an infinite loop used for continuous execution until a break condition is met, for loop is a finite loop designed for a specific number of iterations.
The choice between these loops depends on what’s the expected behavior of the program
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1