Nested Loop

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A nested loop is a loop that is contained within another loop. This means that the inner loop will iterate for each iteration of the outer loop.

Here is an example of a nested loop in C++:

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

int main()
{
    for ( size_t i = 1; i <= 5; i++)
    {
        for ( size_t j = 1; j <= 6; j++)
        {
            cout << "*";
        }
        cout << endl;
    }

    return 0;
}

This code is a nested for loop that prints a rectangle of asterisks to the console. The outer loop iterates 5 times, and the inner loop iterates 6 times. This means that the code inside the inner loop will be executed 30 times.

Here is a step-by-step explanation of what happens when you run this code:

  1. The program declares two variables i and j, and initializes them to 1.
  2. The program starts the outer for loop.
  3. The outer for loop checks if i is less than or equal to 5. If it is, the inner for loop is executed.
  4. The inner for loop checks if j is less than or equal to 6. If it is, the program prints an asterisk to the console.
  5. The inner for loop then increments j by 1.
  6. The inner for loop repeats steps 4 and 5 until j is greater than 6.
  7. After the inner for loop has terminated, the program prints a newline character to the console.
  8. The outer for loop then increments i by 1.
  9. The outer for loop repeats steps 3-8 until i is greater than 5.

Here is the output of the code:

******
******
******
******
******

Nested loops can be used to solve a variety of problems. For example, you could use nested loops to iterate over all the elements of a two-dimensional array, or to generate all the possible combinations of two sets of values.

Here are some tips for using nested loops:

  • Use nested loops sparingly. Nested loops can make your code more difficult to read and understand.
  • Use nested loops to avoid writing duplicate code. If you find yourself writing the same code inside a loop multiple times, consider using nested loops.
  • Use nested loops to make your code more efficient. For example, you can use nested loops to avoid searching for an element in an array multiple times.
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