Problem solving Loop Practice Problem from Jumping into C++

I am currently going through "Jumping into C++" by Alex Allain, and I am absolutely stuck at the Chapter 5 Practice Problem #3 which entitles "Write a program that computes a running sum of inputs from the user, terminating when the user gives an input of 0.". For the life of me I can't seem to comprehend or understand how to go about this at all... I'm having a really hard time wrapping my head around loops or knowing which loop to use for what purpose.

What I have so far is
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#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

int main()
{
	int num1, num2, total;
	total = 0;

	cout << "Please enter a number: ";
	cin >> num1;
	cout << "please enter a second number: ";
	cin >> num2;

}


Thank you so much for helping me learn and help make me understand loops better.
closed account (18hRX9L8)
Use sentinel values and a while loop and make total 0. Then add the input to it.

Pseudo-Code:
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total=0;
while (user_input!=0)
{add the input to the total}
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Let me teach you three loops.

First, the for loop.
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for(unsigned i=0 /*declaration*/; i<10 /*condition*/; i++/*iteration*/)
{
    //this body will be repeated 10 times, with 'i' incrementing post-execution
}


Next, the while loop.

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unsigned i=0;
while(i < 10 /*condition*/)
{
    ++i;
    //this body will be iterated again if the condition is met with true
}


Next, the do-while loop.
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int i=0;
do //body will be executed at least once
{
    ++i;
}while(i<10); //re-do if the condition is met 
well After trying to figure out from your helpful code, I came up with this:
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#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

int main()
{
	int input, total;
	total = 0; 
        input = 1;

	 while(input != 0)
    {
        cout << "Please enter a number: ";
        cin >> input;
        total = total + input;
        cout << "Total: "<< total << endl;
    }

	return 0;


I didn't know initializing input to 1 would make my while work... I had it at 0 before and nothing showed up until I changed it to 1. Now that I figured it out, it seems ever so simple... Thanks guys for your help :).

::Edit::

I just realized that doing a do-while loop was more practical in this case because it needs to user's input before the loop begins. I ended up doing it his way:

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#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

int main()
{
	int input, total;
	total = 0;

	do
	{
		cout << "Please enter a number: ";
        cin >> input;
        total = total + input;
        cout << "Total: "<< total << endl;
	}while(input != 0);

	return 0;
}


I'm slowly starting to get the hang of these loops :).
Last edited on
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