Initializing variable in loop [duplicate]

Answer 1

You should always reduce the scope of the variables as much as possible. This will improve the maintainability of your code, and reduce the chance of bugs.

// bad
int i, j, k;
k = 0;
for (i = 0; i < X, ++i)
{
  j = foo(i);
  k += j;
} 

bar(k);

... vs ...

// better
int k=0; // needs scope outside loop
for (int i = 0; i < X, ++i)
{
  int j = foo(i);
  k += j;
} 

bar(k);