Python From Scratch

Python While Loops & For Loops

Lesson 11 Content
• Python While Loops
• Python Loops
• The while Loop
• The break Statement
• The continue Statement
• The else Statement
• Python - While Loops Exercises

• Python For Loops

• Looping Through a String
• The break Statement
• The continue Statement
• The range() Function
• Else in For Loop
• Nested Loops
• The pass Statement
• Python - For Loops Exercises
 Python While Loops
Python Loops
Python has two primitive loop commands:
• while loops
• for loops

The while Loop

With the while loop we can execute a set of statements as long as a condition is true.
Example
Print i as long as i is less than 6:
i = 1
while i < 6:
print(i)
i += 1
Note: remember to increment i, or else the loop will continue forever.
The while loop requires relevant variables to be ready, in this example we need to define an indexing
variable, i, which we set to 1.
The break Statement The continue Statement
With the break statement we can stop the loop With the continue statement we can stop the current
even if the while condition is true: iteration, and continue with the next:
Example Example
Exit the loop when i is 3: Continue to the next iteration if i is 3:
i = 1 i = 0
while i < 6: while i < 6:
print(i) i += 1
if i == 3: if i == 3:
break continue
i += 1 print(i)
The else Statement
With the else statement we can run a block of code once when the condition no longer is true:
Example
Print a message once the condition is false:
i = 1
while i < 6:
print(i)
i += 1
else:
print("i is no longer less than 6")

Test Yourself With Exercises

Exercise:
Print i as long as i is less than 6.
i = 1
i < 6
print(i)
i += 1
 Python For Loops
Python For Loops
A for loop is used for iterating over a sequence (that is either a list, a tuple, a dictionary, a set, or a
string).
This is less like the for keyword in other programming languages, and works more like an iterator
method as found in other object-orientated programming languages.
With the for loop we can execute a set of statements, once for each item in a list, tuple, set etc.
Example
Print each fruit in a fruit list:
fruits = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
for x in fruits:
print(x)

The for loop does not require an indexing variable to set beforehand.
Looping Through a String
Even strings are iterable objects, they contain a sequence of characters:
Example
Loop through the letters in the word "banana":
for x in "banana":
print(x)

The break Statement

With the break statement we can stop the loop before it has looped through all the items:
Example
Exit the loop when x is "banana":
fruits = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
for x in fruits:
print(x)
if x == "banana":
break

Example
Exit the loop when x is "banana", but this time the break comes before the print:
fruits = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
for x in fruits:
if x == "banana":
break
print(x)

The continue Statement

With the continue statement we can stop the current iteration of the loop, and continue with the next:
Example
Do not print banana:
fruits = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
for x in fruits:
if x == "banana":
continue
print(x)
The range() Function
To loop through a set of code a specified number of times, we can use the range() function,
The range() function returns a sequence of numbers, starting from 0 by default, and increments by 1 (by
default), and ends at a specified number.
Example
Using the range() function:
for x in range(6):
print(x)
Note that range(6) is not the values of 0 to 6, but the values 0 to 5.
The range() function defaults to 0 as a starting value, however it is possible to specify the starting value
by adding a parameter: range(2, 6), which means values from 2 to 6 (but not including 6):
Example
Using the start parameter:
for x in range(2, 6):
print(x)

The range() function defaults to increment the sequence by 1, however it is possible to specify the
increment value by adding a third parameter: range(2, 30, 3):
Example
Increment the sequence with 3 (default is 1):
for x in range(2, 30, 3):
print(x)

Else in For Loop

The else keyword in a for loop specifies a block of code to be executed when the loop is finished:
Example
Print all numbers from 0 to 5, and print a message when the loop has ended:
for x in range(6):
print(x)
else:
print("Finally finished!")

Note: The else block will NOT be executed if the loop is stopped by a break statement.
Example
Break the loop when x is 3, and see what happens with the else block:
for x in range(6):
if x == 3: break
print(x)
else:
print("Finally finished!")
Nested Loops
A nested loop is a loop inside a loop.
The "inner loop" will be executed one time for each iteration of the "outer loop":
Example
Print each adjective for every fruit:
adj = ["red", "big", "tasty"]
fruits = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

for x in adj:
for y in fruits:
print(x, y)

The pass Statement

for loops cannot be empty, but if you for some reason have a for loop with no content, put in
the pass statement to avoid getting an error.
Example
for x in [0, 1, 2]:
pass

Test Yourself With Exercises

Exercise:
Loop through the items in the fruits list.
fruits = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

x fruits
print(x)