// program to report the number of characters entered up to the first period
// not counting the terminating period.
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main()
{
   int howMany;
   char c;

   // using a while loop
   cout << "Enter a character ('.' to stop) -- ";
   cin >> c;
   howMany = 0;
   while (c != '.') {
      howMany++;
      cout << "Enter a character ('.' to stop) -- ";
      cin >> c;
   }
   cout << "You entered " << howMany << " characters." << endl;

   // using a do-while loop
   howMany = 0;
   do {
      cout << "Enter a character ('.' to stop) -- ";
      cin >> c;
      if (c != '.') howMany++;
   } while (c != '.');
   cout << "You entered " << howMany << " characters." << endl;
   
   return 0;
}