Question

A sentinal value is that value that cause the loop to stop or terminate. It meets the condition

A) True
B) False

Answer 1

The statement is true; a sentinel value is used to terminate a loop when encountered. It acts as a signal to stop loop execution and is chosen to not represent valid data.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the context of programming, a sentinel value is indeed used to terminate a loop when it is encountered. The statement is True. A sentinel value is a specific value that signals the loop to stop processing when the value is detected. This value is deliberately chosen as it does not represent a valid input or part of the actual data set. It is often used in situations where the length of the data is not known in advance.

For example, consider a program that requests user input until the user types "-1" which acts as the sentinel value:

while(true) {
int input = getUserInput();
if(input == -1) {
break; // Exit the loop as sentinel value is encountered
}
// Process input
}

The loop continues to execute until "-1" is inputted by the user, which causes the loop to terminate. Therefore, a sentinel value controls the flow of execution within loops.