While loop in C - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Using a While Loop in C

📖 Scenario: You are helping a cashier count the number of customers entering a store. The cashier wants to keep track until 5 customers have entered.

🎯 Goal: Build a C program that uses a while loop to count from 1 to 5 and print each number, simulating counting customers.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create an integer variable called count and set it to 1

Create an integer variable called max_customers and set it to 5

Use a while loop with the condition count <= max_customers

Inside the loop, print the current value of count

Inside the loop, increase count by 1

After the loop, print "Counting complete!"

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Counting events or items repeatedly until a condition is met is common in many real-world tasks, like counting customers, steps, or inventory.

💼 Career

Understanding loops is essential for programming jobs, as loops help automate repetitive tasks efficiently.

1

Create the count variable

Create an integer variable called count and set it to 1.

C

int count = 1;  // Your code here

Need a hint?

Use int count = 1; to create the variable.

2

Create the max_customers variable

Add an integer variable called max_customers and set it to 5 below the count variable.

C

#include 

int main() {
    int count = 1;
    int max_customers = 5;  // Your code here
    return 0;
}

Need a hint?

Use int max_customers = 5; to create the variable.

3

Write the while loop

Write a while loop with the condition count <= max_customers. Inside the loop, print the value of count using printf, then increase count by 1.

C

#include 

int main() {
    int count = 1;
    int max_customers = 5;
    // Your code here
    return 0;
}

Need a hint?

Use while (count <= max_customers) and inside the loop use printf("%d\n", count); and count++;.

4

Print completion message

After the while loop, add a printf statement to print "Counting complete!".

C

#include 

int main() {
    int count = 1;
    int max_customers = 5;
    while (count <= max_customers) {
        printf("%d\n", count);
        count++;
    }
    // Your code here
    return 0;
}

Need a hint?

Use printf("Counting complete!\n"); after the loop.