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copied!<p>Functionally, they're the same thing, of course. The only reason to differentiate is to impart some meaning to a maintainer or to some human reader/reviewer of the code.</p> <p>I think the while idiom is useful for communicating to the reader of the code that a non-linear test is controlling the loop, whereas a for idiom generally implies some kind of sequence. My brain also kind of "expects" that for loops are controlled only by the counting expression section of the for statement arguments, and I'm surprised (and disappointed) when I find someone conditionally messing with the index variable inside the execution block.</p> <p>You could put it in your coding standard that "for" loops should be used only when the full for loop construct is followed: the index must be initialized in the initializer section, the index must be tested in the loop-test section, and the value of the index must only be altered in the counting expression section. Any code that wants to alter the index in the executing block should use a while construct instead. The rationale would be "you can trust a for loop to execute using only the conditions you can see without having to hunt for hidden statements that alter the index, but you can't assume anything is true in a while loop."</p> <p>I'm sure there are people who would argue and find plenty of counter examples to demonstrate valid uses of for statements that don't fit my model above. That's fine, but consider that your code can be "surprising" to a maintainer who may not have your insight or brilliance. And surprises are best avoided.</p>

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