Question

Show the trace of the following code under the TRACE column and the output under the PRINTOUT column: (follow the example for statement 1)

1. int a = 1, b = 10, c = 3;
2. while ( b > 0 && a <= 5 )
3. {
4. b = b - 2;
5. c = c + a;
6. System.out.println ("a = " + a + " b = " + b + " c = " + c );
7. if ( c < b )
8. b++;
9. else
10. c++;
11. a = a + 2;
12. }

Answer 1

The code snippet is a Java program that illustrates a loop with variables being manipulated and conditions being checked. The trace would show the changes in the variables' values after every loop iteration, and the printout would display what is printed to the system console each time through the loop.

Step-by-step explanation:

The code in question is a Java program that initializes three variables (a, b, c) and then enters a while loop that continues to execute as long as b is greater than 0 and a is less or equal to 5. Within the while loop, b is decreased by 2 each iteration, c is increased by the current value of a, and then a message is printed showing the current values of a, b and c. Depending on whether c is less than b, b is then either incremented or c is incremented. After this, a is incremented by 2 before the loop condition is checked again for potentially another iteration.

The trace of execution (assuming this refers to the value of variables after each iteration) and the printout (system output of the program) are complex to show without a proper table but will reflect the manipulation of the variables as described.