0 
while((a!=0)&&(a>0))
    {
     printf("LOOP ENTERED\n");
        if(a>=0.25)
        {
            a=a-0.25;
            i++;
        }

        else if((a<0.25)&&(a>=0.10))
        {
            a=a-0.10;
            i++;
        }
        else if((a<0.10)&&(a>=0.05))
        {
            a=a-0.05;
            i++;
        }
        else if((a<0.05)&&(a>=0.01))
        {
            a=a-0.01;
            i++;
        }
    }

why is this an infinite loop? IS this approach wrong. I have initialized i=0 at start. And a is the amount in dollars.

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3
  • Additional to @Cliff B's answer let me give you some advice about your code. Firstly in your while loop, since you check for a > 0 you don't have to check for a != 0 too, as it's included in the > operator. Secondly in your consecutive if statements, if a is bigger or equal to 0.25 it will enter the first if and it WILL NOT check the other ifs. Moreover if a is less than 0.25 it will check the second if, so you don't have to check again if a is less that 0.25. What I'm trying to say is you could write i like that: if (a >= 0.25) and then else if (a >= 0.10) and so on.
    – ChrisG
    Jul 10, 2015 at 8:09
  • Yeah. That makes sense. Thank you :) (y)
    – Prashanth Pradeep
    Jul 10, 2015 at 17:41
  • It's nothing. You can also mark @Cliff B's answer as correct (by clicking the gray check icon next to the answer) if it helped you solve your problem.
    – ChrisG
    Jul 10, 2015 at 17:42

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

The purpose of this exercise is to understand the issues with inexact storage of floats. You've run into exactly this problem. In your code, a will never get all the way to zero. To see what's happening, insert the following line in your while loop: 

 printf("a=%.20f.   ",a);

For a more detailed explanation, see this answer:

pset1 Greedy can't compute pennies

So, that should get you going. If you're happy with this, please mark your question as answered. Let's keep up on forum housekeeping. ;-)

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2
  • Ohk cool! Thank you. I had one more doubt.. How do you check the output for foo or any string?
    – Prashanth Pradeep
    Jul 10, 2015 at 17:39
  • Since this question doesn't call for string output, not sure I follow. Sounds like a new question. IF so, feel free to post a new one.
    – Cliff B
    Jul 10, 2015 at 19:01

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