The for loop combines initialization, condition checking, and iteration in a single loop statement. It is commonly used when the number of iterations is controlled by a counter.

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
    int i;

    for (i = 1; i <= 5; i++)
    {
        printf("%d\n", i);
    }

    return 0;
}

Example Output #

1
2
3
4
5

Explanation #

The for loop contains three expressions:

for (i = 1; i <= 5; i++)

• i = 1 initializes the loop counter.
• i <= 5 is the condition checked before each iteration.
• i++ increments the counter after each iteration.

The execution order is:

1. i is initialized to 1.
2. The condition i <= 5 is checked.
3. The loop body executes.
4. i++ increments i.
5. Steps 2–4 repeat until the condition becomes false.

When i becomes 6, the condition evaluates to 0, so the loop terminates.