Java puzzle 16: Conditional statements within a loop

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Here is the puzzle of today, which demonstrates a conditional statement within a loop.

Java puzzle 16: Conditional statements within a loop

Level: Normal

What is the output of this program and why?

public class MyClass
{
  public static void main(String[] args)
  {
    for(int i = 0; i < 4; i++)
    {
      if(i > 2)
      {
        System.out.print("x");
      }
      else
      {
        System.out.print("y ");
      }
    }
  }
}

Author: Sar Maroof

Answer explanation

The loop is repeated 4 times, because the initial value of the variable i is 0 and the body of the loop is executed as long as i is smaller than 4.
When i is equal to 0, the body of the loop is executed. The statement if(i > 2) returns false. Therefore the else block is executed and y is written to the standard ouput.
When i is equal to 1 and 2, y is written to the standard output see the explanation of the step 2.
When i is equal to 3 the statement if(i > 2) returns true. Therefore x is written to the standard output.
The correct answer is that this program writes yyyx to the standard output.

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Sar Maroof is a professional software development teacher, gives master classes and publishes technical articles. He is also an expert software developer and worked for several big as well as small companies and later as a freelancer.