Programming Fundamentals
(SWE –102)
ITERATION WITH LOOPS
What is Loop: Introduction
• A loop can be used to tell a program to execute
statements repeatedly
• Suppose that you need to display a string (e.g.,
Programming is fun!) 100 times. It would be
tedious to type the statement 100 times:
• print("Programming is fun!")
• print("Programming is fun!")
100 times
• ...
• print("Programming is fun!")
How do you solve this problem ?
• Python provides a powerful construct called a
loop, which controls how many times in
succession an operation (or a sequence of
operations) is performed.
• By using a loop statement, you don’t have to
code the print statement a hundred times;
you simply tell the computer to display a
string that number of times.
How do you solve this problem ?
• A loop is a construct that controls the
repeated execution of a block of statements.
• A loop can be used to tell a program to
execute statements repeatedly. In other word,
to keep a computer doing useful work we
need repetition, looping back over the same
block of code again and again.
Type of Loop Statements in Python:
• There are two types of loop statements in Python
language. They are,
1. for
2. while
• The for loop is a count-controlled loop that
repeats a specified number of times.
• The while loop is a condition-controlled loop; it is
• controlled by a true/false condition.
The for Loop
• A Python for loop iterates through each value
in a sequence.
• Often you know exactly how many times the
loop body needs to be executed, so a control
variable can be used to count the executions.
A loop of this type is called a counter-
controlled loop.
The for Loop: Syntax
• In general, the syntax of a for loop is:
• for var in sequence:
# Loop body
a) for i in range(endValue):
#Loop body
b) for i in range(initialValue, endValue):
# Loop body
c) for i in range(initialValue, endValue,k):
#k=step value
# Loop body
How for loop works:
• A ‘sequence’ holds multiple items of data,
stored one after the other. In sequence
introduce strings and data storing techniques.
They are sequence-type objects in Python.
• The statements in the body of the loop are
executed once for each value.
• Generate a sequence of numbers using
‘range() function’, range(10) will generate
numbers from 0 to 9 (10 numbers).
How for loop works:
• The variable var takes on each successive
value in the sequence, and the statements in
the body of the loop are executed once for
each value.
• The function range(a, b) returns the sequence
of integers a, a + 1, ..., b - 2, and b -1.
Example program for ‘for loop’ using
sequence(string):
- for letter in 'Python':
print ('Current Letter :', letter)
Output:
>>>
Current Letter : P
Current Letter : y
Current Letter : t
Current Letter : h
Current Letter : o
Current Letter : n
Example program for ‘for loop’ using
range( )’:
• # Simple for loop using range()
- for i in range(1,6):
print("Programming is fun")
Output:
>>>
Programming is fun
Programming is fun
Programming is fun
Programming is fun
Programming is fun
How for loop works:
• >>> for v in range(4, 8):
• print(v)
• Output:
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• >>>
How for loop works:
• The range function has two more versions.
You can also use range(a) or range(a,b,k).
range(a) is the same as range(0, a).
• k is used as step value in range(a, b, k). The
first number in the sequence is a. Each
successive number in the sequence will
increase by the step value k. b is the limit. The
last number in the sequence must be less than
b.
How for loop works:
• >>> for v in range(3, 9, 2):
• print(v)
• Output:
• 3
• 5
• 7
How for loop works:
• The step value in range (3, 9, 2) is 2, and the
limit is 9. So, the sequence is 3, 5, and 7.
• The range(a, b, k) function can count
backward if k is negative. In this case, the
sequence is still a, a + k, a + 2k, and so on for a
negative k. The last number in the sequence
must be greater than b.
Practice Question
• >>> for v in range(5, 1, -1):
• ... print(v)
Output:
The while Loop
• A while loop executes statements repeatedly
as long as a condition remains true.
• The syntax for the while loop is:
• while loop-continuation-condition:
# Loop body
Statement(s)
The while Loop: Flow chart
Figure 1
The while Loop: How it works
• Figure 1 shows the while-loop flowchart. A single
execution of a loop body is called an iteration (or
repetition) of the loop.
• Each loop contains a loop-continuation-condition, a
Boolean expression that controls the body’s execution.
• It is evaluated each time to determine if the loop body
should be executed. If its evaluation is True, the loop
body is executed; otherwise, the entire loop terminates
and the program control turns to the statement that
follows the while loop.
The while Loop: Example
- count = 0
while count < 100:
print("Programming is fun!")
count = count + 1
Output:
• >>>
Programming is fun!
Programming is fun!
Programming is fun!
Programming is fun!
Programming is fun!
The while Loop: Example
- sum = 0
i=1
while i < 10:
sum = sum + i
i=i+1
• print("sum is", sum) # sum is 45
The while Loop: Example
• If i < 10 is true, the program adds i to sum.
The variable i is initially set to 1, then
incremented to 2, 3, and so on, up to 10.
When i is 10, i < 10 is false, and the loop exits.
• So sum is 1 + 2 + 3 + ... + 9 = 45.
The while Loop: Example
• Suppose the loop is mistakenly written as
follows:
- sum = 0
i=1
while i < 10:
sum = sum + i
i=i+1
The while Loop: Example
• Note that the entire loop body must be indented
inside the loop. Here the statement i = i + 1 is not
in the loop body.
• This loop is infinite, because i is always 1 and i <
10 will always be true.
• If your program takes an unusual long time to run
and does not stop, it may have an infinite loop. If
you run the program from the command window,
press CTRL+C to stop it.
Controlling a Loop with User
Confirmation
• The preceding example executes the loop five times. If
you want the user to decide whether to take another
question, you can offer a user confirmation. The
template of the program can be coded as follows:
- continueLoop = 'Y‘
While continueLoop == 'Y‘:
Execute the loop body once
# Prompt the user for confirmation
continueLoop = input("Enter Y to continue and
N to quit: ")
