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# 8.1: The While Loop

Difficulty Level: At Grade Created by: CK-12

The while loop is similar to the for loop in that it allows the repeated execution of statements. Unlike the for loop, the number of times that the statements in the body of the loop are executed can depend on variable values that are computed in the loop. The syntax of the while loop has the following form:

While expression

% Command 1

% Command 2

% More commands to execute repeatedly until expression is not true

end


where

expression


is a logical expression that is either true or false. (Information about logical expressions is available in the Logical Expressions subsection of the Conditionals section.) For example, consider the following while loop:

n = 1

while n < 3

n = n + 1

end


This code creates the following output:

n =

1

n =

2

n =

3


Note that in all of this example, the commands inside the while loop are indented relative to the while and end statements. This is not required, but is common practice and makes the code much more readable.

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Date Created:
Feb 23, 2012