What is wrong with this for/next loop

[Helium5793]

When I type this in
For i% = 1 To 5
    Print i%
Next
Print i%

I get when I run it:
1
2
3
4
5
6

Seems like it should be 5 not 6.

Why is i%  6 after it comes out of the for/next loop?
I am running QB64e under fedora linux.  Not sure how to find the version number, but the installation files all have 12/13/2024 as the date modified on them so it isn't an old version.

[ahenry3068]

This is normally how BASIC works.    The Index variable gets changed by STEP (or just +1 if no STEP is specified) at the NEXT.    It happens
one final time when the for loop exits.

Actually by formal definition the variable value is UNDEFINED except during the loop. But what you found is how every BASiC
I've dealt with has actually behaved.

[Jack002]

This is normally how BASIC works.    The Index variable gets changed by STEP (or just +1 if no STEP is specified) at the NEXT.    It happens
one final time when the for loop exits.

  Actually by formal definition the variable value is UNDEFINED except during the loop.  But what you found is how every BASiC
I've dealt with has actually behaved.

Agreed. I first saw this happen with Commodore v 2.0. BASIC. This is how the FOR loop operates in BASIC

[TempodiBasic]

This is how the FOR loop operates in BASIC

IMHO it seems how FOR loop operates...
when you exit from the loop the counter of loop will be max + 1 because until the counter is max it must run the loop!

Code: (Select All)

Rem this demo showes how FOR  works

Screen 0

While 1

    Cls , (Rnd * 6) + 1

    Locate 1, 1

    Print "Press 1 for Original FOR-NEXT "

    Print "Press 2 for GOTO version of FOR-NEXT"

    Print "Press 0 to quit program"

    a$ = Input$(1)

    If a$ = "0" Then

        End

    ElseIf a$ = "1" Then

        OriginalFORNEXT

    ElseIf a$ = "2" Then

        GOTODemoFORNEXT

    End If

    Color 31, 9: Print "Press a key for continue": Sleep: _KeyClear: Color 15, 0

Wend

End

Sub OriginalFORNEXT ()

    Dim counter As Integer

    counter = 0

    Print "Counter before FOR"; counter

    Print " Counter in the loop of FOR"

    For counter = 1 To 5 Step 1

        Print counter

    Next counter

    Print " Counter after loop FOR"; counter

End Sub

Sub GOTODemoFORNEXT ()

    Dim counter As Integer

    counter = 0

    Print "Counter before FOR loop"; counter

    Print "Counter in the loop of FOR"

    nextTest:

    counter = counter + 1 ' the STEP of loop FOR-NEXT is set to 1

    If counter <= 5 Then

        Print counter

        GoTo nextTest

    End If

    Print "Counter after loop FOR"; counter

End Sub

here a screenshot of output using VScode


and here a example in C
compiled with g++

[Kernelpanic]

Why is i%  6 after it comes out of the for/next loop?
I am running QB64e under fedora linux.  Not sure how to find the version number, but the installation files all have 12/13/2024 as the date modified on them so it isn't an old version.

This has nothing to do with Basic; it's the same in C. The reason is simple: 
The loop is executed until it detects that the final count will be exceeded on a subsequent iteration. However, the counter variable "i" contains the last value, which in this case is "6."

[SMcNeill]

Lots of people have answered this, but let me go ahead and add my two cents worth on WHY it works this way.

FOR i = 1 TO 5
NEXT
PRINT i

For the above, it seems reasonable to assume that i *could* be 5.  We're running a loop and counting from 1 to 5, so *WHY* is the value 6 after that loop?

That's easily explained with a second set of code:

FOR i = 1 TO 10 STEP 2
NEXT
PRINT i

Now, with the above, I can never *be* to 10.   It counts by 2, starting at 1, so I will be:
1 -- first loop
3 -- second loop
5 -- third loop
7 -- fourth loop
9 -- fifth loop
11 -- greater than 10, so EXIT loop

As you can see, I can *never* be 10 as we're counting odd numbers...   So how would this loop ever terminate IF it had to match the target number exactly?  

Obviously, it couldn't.

Instead, the loop runs until the variable EXCEEDS the target value.  In this case, it'd be 11.  We set the FOR loop to run from 1 TO 10, and we count by 2, so 11 would be when it first exceeds that value.

In the FOR i = 1 TO 5, it works the same way.  The process starts counting at 1, adds 1 each loop, and only stops once it EXCEEDS 5.
1... start loop and add 1 each pass
2...add one
3...add one
4 ...add one
5 ...add one  (5 still doesn't EXCEED 5, so we continue on)
6...   Exceeds 5, so EXIT loop

And that's basically the *WHY* it behaves the way it does.  A FOR loop starts at the first number, counts by the STEP, and repeats until it EXCEEDS the second number.

^ It's just that simple of a process. 

[Kernelpanic]

This can be prevented, for example, in this way:

Code: (Select All)

'For-Schleife und Ausgabe des letzten Wertes - 15. April 2025



Option _Explicit



Dim As Integer i, j



Print

For i = 1 To 5

  Print i

Next



Print

Print i





Print: Print "------------------------"

Print

For j = 1 To 5

  Print j

  If j = 5 Then

    'Keine Zuweisung mehr

    Exit For

  End If

Next



Print

Print j



End