Iterate with for loop or while loop?

Question

I often see code like:

Iterator i = list.iterator();
while(i.hasNext()) {
    ...
}

but I write that (when Java 1.5 isn\'t available or for

Answer 1

I agree that the for loop should be used whenever possible but sometimes there's more complex logic that controls the iterator in the body of the loop. In that case you have to go with while.

Answer 2

I was the for loop for clarity. While I use the while loop when faced with some undeterministic condition.

Answer 3

IMHO, the for loop is less readable in this scenario, if you look at this code from the perspective of English language. I am working on a code where author does abuse for loop, and it ain't pretty. Compare following:

for (; (currUserObjectIndex < _domainObjectReferences.Length) && (_domainObjectReferences[currUserObjectIndex].VisualIndex == index); ++currUserObjectIndex)
    ++currNumUserObjects;

vs

while (currUserObjectIndex < _domainObjectReferences.Length && _domainObjectReferences[currUserObjectIndex].VisualIndex == index)
{
    ++currNumUserObjects;
    ++currUserObjectIndex;
}