How do you make a variable work in multiple loops?

Question

I am trying to solve the vigenere.c problem, but there is one step that I need to figure out before my code works. I am stuck here and I don't know what else I could do. In my code, I have a variable called key_number that creates a number from 0 to 25 depending on what the letter(s) that is inputted into the command line is/are. This is accomplished through the help of a for loop.

When I try to use the key_number in another part of the code. An error message appears since it is no longer inside the for loop.

So, my question is: How do I take the value that is stored in the key_number and transfer it to the rest of the code so that my code can work?

#include <cs50.h>
#include <ctype.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>

int main(int argc, string argv[])
{
    if (argc != 2) //Makes sure that only two strings are provided with the execute command.
    {
        printf("Usage: ./vigenere <key>\n");
        return 1;
    }

    for (int i = 0, n = strlen(argv[1]); i < n; i++) //Makes sure that only alphabetica characters are inputted.
    {
        if (!isalpha(argv[1][i]))
        {
             printf("Error: Only alphabetic numbers please\n");
             return 1;
        }
    }

    string key = argv[1];
    string plaintext = get_string("plaintext: "); //Asks user for input to his original text/plaintext.
    printf("ciphertext: "); //Starts the printed output that will be followed up by the ciphertext.


    for (int i = 0, n = strlen(key); i < n; i++) //Rotates through each letter of the input/key.
    {
         if (isupper(key)) //If the character is uppercase, that character is converted to its ASCII value then itis converted to a
         //number from 0 to 25 depending on whilch letter of the alphabet it is.
         {
             for (int j = 65; j < 91; j++) //65 is ASCII value for 'A', 90 is ASCII value for 'Z'. So, it rotates through each
             //possible value until the inputted character is found.
            {
                int key_number = (int) key[i];
                if (key_number == j) //Checks to see if the integer value of a character matches the particular j value.
                {
                     key_number = j - 65; //Converts ASCII value to a number from 0 to 25.
                }
            }
        }

        if (islower(key)) //If the character is lowercase, that character is converted to its ASCII value then itis converted to a
        //number from 0 to 25 depending on whilch letter of the alphabet it is.
        {
            for (int j = 97; j < 123; j++) //97 is ASCII value for 'a', 122 is ASCII value for 'z'. So, it rotates through each
            //possible value until the inputted character is found.
            {
                int key_number = (int) key[i];
                if (key_number == j) //Checks to see if the integer value of a character matches the particular j value.
                {
                     key_number = j - 97; //Converts ASCII value to a number from 0 to 25.

                }
            }
        }

 //PROBLEM STARTS HERE
        if (isupper(plaintext[i])) //If the letter is uppercase, use the formula below to encrypt it and keep it uppercase.
        {
            char cipher_upper = (((plaintext[i] + key_number) - 65) % 26) + 65; //Creates variable for uppercase letters.
            printf("%c", cipher_upper);
        }

        else if (islower(plaintext[i])) //If the letter is lowercase, use the formula below to encrypt it and keep it lowercase.
        {
             char cipher_lower = (((plaintext[i] + key_number) - 97) % 26) + 97; //Creates variable for lowercase letters.
             printf("%c", cipher_lower);
        }

        else //If it is not alphabetic, keep it the same.
        {
             char cipher_neither = plaintext[i]; //Creates variables for non alphabetic characters.
             printf("%c", cipher_neither);
        }
     }

     printf("\n");
     return 0;
}

Thanks for the help :)

Answer 1

In order to use a variable in any loop or function, we must declare it outside any of them. If your program does not use auxiliary files, it is sufficient to declare it inside main and outside any code block:

int main(int argc, string argv[])
{
    int key_number = 0;
    ......
    rest of code

Then we can assign it in the block that we want:

for(....)
{
    key_number = (int) key[i];

Without declaring it in a block of code (loop or function), that is without saying again int key_number, since if we do it we are a new variable, called local, and that only exists in the block of code where it was declared, and that it disappears when we leave that block. I recommend some reading about the scope rules, extern global local variables etc, it will help you better understand these concepts