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I have a question in a exam and by the way that it sounds, it should be a trap:

How many assignments will there be executed in the following algorithm if n and pare considered to be integers?

p=1; n=279;
while (n>=100)
{ p=p*10;
n=n-100;
}

I would say that there are 4 assignments in the while loop and two before the while ... so 6 ? I'm not sure why the question highlights the integer feature of the variables.

CCBet
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    Knowing they're integers, you know they can go negative by subtraction. Unsigned integers couldn't. – Mike Kinghan Mar 05 '16 at 17:52
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    Wasn't trying to answer the question, just accounting for the significance of *integer*. If `n` was *unsigned* it would loop forever. Since the code is C-like but not compilable C, I don't know whether to count `p=1; n=279;` as *assignments* or *initializations*. Sloppy question IMO. If it's not multiple choice you might say "It depends..." and explain both ways. – Mike Kinghan Mar 05 '16 at 18:21
  • Sloppy question IMO also. That's why i have the doubt about how many would there be ... But which would be the difference between a initialization (i asume it's the operation through which a value is assigned to the variable) and asignment ? is assignment considered the situation when the same variable will get through another operation a new value ? – CCBet Mar 05 '16 at 18:29
  • Correct. Initialization = variable created with value. Assignment = old variable assumes new value. – Mike Kinghan Mar 05 '16 at 18:33

1 Answers1

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I'd say 6 because the declaration seems to be somewhere else -- it's not 

int p=1, n=279;

Ok, even in that case I'd lean towards 6 because the declarations imply assignments (and this thread seems to agree: Difference between declaration statement and assignment statement in C? ), but this is fortunately not the question here.

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Stefan Haustein
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