---
title: Too many control variables in for loop
description: Datadog, the leading service for cloud-scale monitoring.
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  Docs > Datadog Security > Code Security > Static Code Analysis (SAST) > SAST
  Rules > Too many control variables in for loop
---

# Too many control variables in for loop

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## Metadata{% #metadata %}

**ID:** `java-best-practices/forloop-variable-count`

**Language:** Java

**Severity:** Warning

**Category:** Best Practices

## Description{% #description %}

The presence of multiple control variables in a `for` loop can obscure the range of values over which the loop iterates and make your code brittle and difficult to debug.

To follow this rule, regular `for` loops should have only one control variable.

## Arguments{% #arguments %}

- `max-variables`: Maximum number of control variables. Default: 1.

## Non-Compliant Code Examples{% #non-compliant-code-examples %}

```java
public class Main {
   public void foo() {
      for (int i = 0, j = 0; i < 10; i++, j += 2) { // more than one control variable
         foo();
      }
   }
}
```

## Compliant Code Examples{% #compliant-code-examples %}

```java
public class Main {
   public void foo() {
      for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
         foo();
      }
   }
}
```
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