For each loops are great when we want to do something to each element of an array. But sometimes we only want to do something until a condition is met. For that, we can use a for loop.

Using For Loops

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Let's refactor our GroceryList.cs app to use a for loop instead of for each:

using System;

class GroceryList
{
  static void Main()
  {
    string[] myGroceryList = { "eggs", "milk", "bread", "bananas", "cereal", "rice" };

    Console.WriteLine("My grocery list:");
    for (int index = 0; index < myGroceryList.Length; index++)
    {
      Console.WriteLine(myGroceryList[index]);
    }
  }
}

Here's how the for loop works:

• The for statement here takes three parameters: initialization, condition, and final expression. Each are separated by semicolons ;.

• The initialization parameter (int index = 0) creates an int called index that starts at zero. This states that the first time the loop runs is actually the 0th time. Initializing for loops at 0 is a common practice, but they can theoretically be initialized at any number.

• The condition parameter (index < myGroceryList.Length) tells the loop when it should stop running. In this case, we've instructed our loop to halt when index is no longer less than myGroceryList.length. Keep in mind that myGroceryList.Length evaluates to 6, but the last index of myGroceryList is 5, because indexes begins at 0.

• The final expression parameter (index++) manipulates the variable that keeps track of where we are in the loop. Here we use the increment operator ++ to add 1 to index each time we go through the loop.

• Within the loop, we include the line Console.WriteLine(myGroceryList[index]);. On each loop through, we locate and print the item in myGroceryList at the current index.

Leap Year Example

Let's write an application that tells users the leap years that occurred during their lives. We'll begin with a LeapYear.cs file containing the following:

using System;

class LeapYear
{
  static void Main()
  {
    Console.WriteLine("What year were you born in?");
    string stringBirthYear = Console.ReadLine();
    int birthYear = int.Parse(stringBirthYear);

    Console.WriteLine("You were alive during these leap years:");
    for (int year = birthYear; year <= 2020; year ++)
    {
      if (year % 4 == 0)
      {
        Console.WriteLine(year);
      }
    }
  }
}

Here we ask for the user's birth year and save the input into the variable birthYear. In our for loop, we:

1. Initialize the year variable, setting it to the user's birthYear.
2. Tell the loop to stop running when year <= 2020 is no longer true.
3. Tell the loop to add 1 to our year for every iteration of the loop.

For each iteration of the loop, we run this code:

if (year % 4 == 0)
{
  Console.WriteLine(year);
}

For every year divisible by 4, the modulo comes out to 0, which makes year % 4 == 0 evaluate to true. Every year divisible by 4 is a leap year, so we print it for the user in Console.WriteLine(year);. (There are some exceptions to this rule - we'll do an exercise later to deal with all the complexities of leap years!)

    string[] myGroceryList = { "eggs", "milk", "bread", "bananas", "cereal", "rice" };

    for (int index = 0; index < myGroceryList.Length; index++)
    {
      Console.WriteLine(myGroceryList[index]);
    }
  }
}