What is a loop counter?

A loop counter is a variable specifically used to keep track of how many times a loop has executed. This is essential in programming, particularly in situations where you want to perform a task a specific number of times or need to know how many iterations have occurred during the execution of a program.

Typically, the loop counter is initialized to a starting value before the loop begins, and it is incremented or decremented with each iteration of the loop. For instance, in a for loop, you might see a declaration like for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++), where i serves as the loop counter that starts at 0 and increases with each iteration until it reaches 10. This allows you to have a precise control over the number of loop executions, track progress, or even limit the number of times certain actions are performed.

The other choices do not accurately describe the function or role of a loop counter. A constant value does not change and thus cannot serve the purpose of counting iterations. A value that stops the loop refers to the condition that would terminate the loop, rather than counting iterations. Lastly, a function does not directly control the loop itself; rather, it may be called within a