What is the difference between i and i

Question

In C, what is the difference between using ++i and i++, and which should be used in the incrementation block of a for loop?

Answer 1

To answer your question, the ++i will increment the value of i, and then return the incremented value.
i = 1; j = ++i; (i is 2, j is 2) whereas, the i++ will increment the value of i, but return the original value that i held before being incremented.
i = 1; j = i++; (i is 2, j is 1)

For a for loop, either works. ++i seems more common. However, in any case, follow the guideline "prefer ++i over i++" and you won't go wrong.

You can verify this by looking at the generated code, which will be identical.