{
  "id": "programming.control.loop-body-variables-reset",
  "uri": "https://open-misconceptions.github.io/miscon-data/m/programming.control.loop-body-variables-reset",
  "uuid": "300e50db-d430-4eaa-928f-d34e302f6c48",
  "version": "0.1.1",
  "status": "draft",
  "trust": "low",
  "title": "Variables reset at the start of every loop iteration",
  "statement": "Every time a loop body starts again, the variables changed inside it go back to what they were before the loop.",
  "kind": "overgeneralization",
  "domain": "programming.control",
  "about": [
    {
      "scheme": "Miscon",
      "uri": "https://open-misconceptions.github.io/miscon-data/c/programming.control.loop"
    },
    {
      "scheme": "Miscon",
      "uri": "https://open-misconceptions.github.io/miscon-data/c/programming.variables.variable"
    }
  ],
  "level_band": [
    "primary",
    "middle",
    "secondary",
    "undergraduate"
  ],
  "locale": "en",
  "evidence_patterns": [
    {
      "item_shape": "trace an accumulator updated inside a loop",
      "signature": "reports the value from a single iteration rather than the accumulated value",
      "example": {
        "item": "total = 0\nfor n in [1, 2, 3]:\n    total = total + n\nprint(total)",
        "expected": "6",
        "response": "3"
      }
    }
  ],
  "discriminators": {
    "vs_slip": "Consistent across accumulator items; the learner explains that the loop 'starts over'. A slip is an arithmetic error in the running total.",
    "vs": {
      "programming.variables.variable-keeps-history": "History-keepers report too many values; resetters report only the last iteration's contribution."
    }
  },
  "relations": {
    "conflicts_with": [
      {
        "external": "https://open-misconceptions.github.io/miscon-data/c/programming.variables.variable",
        "label": "A variable holds exactly one value at a time"
      },
      {
        "external": "https://open-misconceptions.github.io/miscon-data/c/programming.control.loop",
        "label": "A loop checks its condition only at defined points and repeats its whole body"
      }
    ],
    "resolved_by": [
      {
        "external": "https://open-misconceptions.github.io/miscon-data/c/programming.variables.variable",
        "label": "A variable holds exactly one value at a time"
      },
      {
        "external": "https://open-misconceptions.github.io/miscon-data/c/programming.control.loop",
        "label": "A loop checks its condition only at defined points and repeats its whole body"
      }
    ],
    "confusable_with": [
      "programming.variables.variable-keeps-history"
    ]
  },
  "alignments": [
    {
      "scheme": "progmiscon",
      "code": "Scratch/ResetStateEachLoopIteration",
      "uri": "https://progmiscon.org/misconceptions/Scratch/ResetStateEachLoopIteration",
      "relation": "close-match"
    }
  ],
  "provenance": {
    "sources": [
      {
        "type": "inventory",
        "citation": "Chiodini, L., Moreno Santos, I., Gallidabino, A., Tafliovich, A., Santos, A. L., & Hauswirth, M. (2021). A curated inventory of programming language misconceptions. In Proceedings of the 26th ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE '21), 380-386.",
        "doi": "10.1145/3430665.3456343",
        "url": "https://progmiscon.org/",
        "note": "Inventory consulted for the misconception name and scope only; progmiscon publishes no licence for its text, so Open Misconceptions' statements and examples are written independently."
      },
      {
        "type": "paper",
        "citation": "Swidan, A., Hermans, F., & Smit, M. (2018). Programming misconceptions for school students. In Proceedings of the 2018 ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research (ICER '18), 151-159.",
        "doi": "10.1145/3230977.3230995"
      },
      {
        "type": "book",
        "citation": "Sorva, J. (2012). Visual Program Simulation in Introductory Programming Education (Doctoral dissertation, Aalto University). Appendix A catalogues introductory programming misconceptions from the literature.",
        "url": "https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/3534"
      }
    ],
    "origin": "llm-drafted",
    "notes": "Drafted from the cited literature for the Open Misconceptions seed pack; statement, examples and discriminators are original text. Awaiting maintainer review."
  },
  "history": {
    "changelog": [
      {
        "version": "0.1.1",
        "date": "2026-09-05",
        "change": "Schema 0.2 migration: about/alignments carry a free-string scheme (corestandards.org URLs relabelled CCSS where present); trust computed from reviews[] (none yet, so low); no change to the statement or evidence."
      }
    ]
  },
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0"
}