Lesson 7
For Loops
Topics
• The for Loop: a Count-Controlled Loop
• Calculating a Running Total
• Nested Loops
The for Loop: a Count-Controlled Loop
(1 of 2)
• Count-Controlled loop: iterates a specific number of
times
– Use a for statement to write count-controlled loop
§ Designed to work with sequence of data items
– Iterates once for each item in the sequence
§ General format:
for variable in [val1, val2, etc]:
statements
§ Target variable: the variable which is the target of the
assignment at the beginning of each iteration
The for Loop: a Count-Controlled Loop
(2 of 2)
The for loop
Using the range Function with the for
Loop
• The range function simplifies the process of writing a
for loop
– range returns an iterable object
§ Iterable: contains a sequence of values that can be
iterated over
• range characteristics:
– One argument: used as ending limit
– Two arguments: starting value and ending limit
– Three arguments: third argument is step value
Using the Target Variable Inside the
Loop
• Purpose of target variable is to reference each item in
a sequence as the loop iterates
• Target variable can be used in calculations or tasks in
the body of the loop
– Example: calculate square root of each number in a
range
Letting the User Control the Loop
Iterations
• Sometimes the programmer does not know exactly
how many times the loop will execute
• Can receive range inputs from the user, place them in
variables, and call the range function in the for clause
using these variables
– Be sure to consider the end cases: range does not
include the ending limit
Generating an Iterable Sequence that
Ranges from Highest to Lowest
• The range function can be used to generate a
sequence with numbers in descending order
– Make sure starting number is larger than end limit, and
step value is negative
– Example: range(10, 0, -1)
Calculating a Running Total (1 of 2)
• Programs often need to calculate a total of a series of
numbers
– Typically include two elements:
§ A loop that reads each number in series
§ An accumulator variable
– Known as program that keeps a running total:
accumulates total and reads in series
– At end of loop, accumulator will reference the total
Calculating a Running Total (2 of 2)
Logic for calculating a running total
The Augmented Assignment Operators
(1 of 2)
• In many assignment statements, the variable on the
left side of the = operator also appears on the right
side of the = operator
• Augmented assignment operators: special set of
operators designed for this type of job
– Shorthand operators
The Augmented Assignment Operators
(2 of 2)
Augmented assignment operators
Operator Example Usage Equivalent To
+= x += 5 x = x + 5
−= y −= 2 y = y − 2
*= z *= 10 z = z * 10
/= a /= b a = a / b
%= c %= 3 c = c % 3
//= x //= 3 x = x // 3
**= y **= 2 y = y**2
Nested Loops (1 of 3)
• Nested loop: loop that is contained inside another loop
– Example: analog clock works like a nested loop
§ Hours hand moves once for every twelve movements of
the minutes hand: for each iteration of the “hours,” do
twelve iterations of “minutes”
§ Seconds hand moves 60 times for each movement of the
minutes hand: for each iteration of “minutes,” do 60
iterations of “seconds”
Nested Loops (2 of 3)
Flowchart for a clock simulator
Nested Loops (3 of 3)
• Key points about nested loops:
– Inner loop goes through all of its iterations for each
iteration of outer loop
– Inner loops complete their iterations faster than outer
loops
– Total number of iterations in nested loop:
number of iterations of inner loop X number of iterations of outer loop
Turtle Graphics: Using Loops to Draw
Designs (1 of 4)
• You can use loops with the turtle to draw both simple
shapes and elaborate designs. For example, the
following for loop iterates four times to draw a square
that is 100 pixels wide:
for x in range(4):
turtle.forward(100)
turtle.right(90)
Turtle Graphics: Using Loops to Draw
Designs (2 of 4)
• This for loop iterates eight times to draw the
octagon:
for x in range(8):
turtle.forward(100)
turtle.right(45)
Turtle Graphics: Using Loops to Draw
Designs (3 of 4)
• You can create interesting designs by repeatedly
drawing a simple shape, with the turtle tilted at a
slightly different angle each time it draws the shape.
NUM_CIRCLES = 36 # Number of circles to draw
RADIUS = 100 # Radius of each circle
ANGLE = 10 # Angle to turn
for x in range(NUM_CIRCLES):
turtle.circle(RADIUS)
turtle.left(ANGLE)
Turtle Graphics: Using Loops to Draw
Designs (4 of 4)
• This code draws a sequence of 36 straight lines to
make a "starburst" design.
START_X = -200 # Starting X coordinate
START_Y = 0 # Starting Y coordinate
NUM_LINES = 36 # Number of lines to draw
LINE_LENGTH = 400 # Length of each line
ANGLE = 170 # Angle to turn
turtle.hideturtle()
turtle.penup()
turtle.goto(START_X, START_Y)
turtle.pendown()
for x in range(NUM_LINES):
turtle.forward(LINE_LENGTH)
turtle.left(ANGLE)
Summary
• This lesson covered:
– Repetition structures, including:
§ Count-controlled loops
§ Nested loops
– range function as used in for loops
– Calculating a running total and augmented assignment
operators
