Why is this an issue?

The for loop is designed to iterate over a range using a counter variable, with the counter being updated in the loop’s increment section. Misusing this structure can lead to issues such as infinite loops if the counter is not updated correctly. If this is intentional, use a while or do while loop instead of a for loop.

Using a for loop for purposes other than its intended use can lead to confusion and potential bugs. If the for loop structure does not fit your needs, consider using an alternative iteration statement.

How to fix it

Move the counter variable update to the loop’s increment section. If this is impossible, consider using another iteration statement instead.

Code examples

Noncompliant code example

int sum = 0;
for (int i = 0; i < 10; sum++) // Noncompliant: `i` is not updated in the increment section
{
  // ...
  i++;
}

for (int i = 0;; i++) // Noncompliant: the loop condition is empty although incrementing `i`
{
  // ...
}

Compliant solution

int sum = 0;
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
{
  // ...
  sum++;
}

int i = 0;
while (true)
{
  // ...
  i++;
}

Resources

Documentation