Get started learning Python with DataCamp's free Intro to Python tutorial. Learn Data Science by completing interactive coding challenges and watching videos by expert instructors. Start Now!

Ready to take the test? Head onto LearnX and get your Python Certification!

Loops


There are two types of loops in Python, for and while.

The "for" loop

For loops iterate over a given sequence. Here is an example:

primes = [2, 3, 5, 7]
for prime in primes:
    print(prime)

For loops can iterate over a sequence of numbers using the "range" and "xrange" functions. The difference between range and xrange is that the range function returns a new list with numbers of that specified range, whereas xrange returns an iterator, which is more efficient. (Python 3 uses the range function, which acts like xrange). Note that the range function is zero based.

# Prints out the numbers 0,1,2,3,4
for x in range(5):
    print(x)

# Prints out 3,4,5
for x in range(3, 6):
    print(x)

# Prints out 3,5,7
for x in range(3, 8, 2):
    print(x)

"while" loops

While loops repeat as long as a certain boolean condition is met. For example:

# Prints out 0,1,2,3,4

count = 0
while count < 5:
    print(count)
    count += 1  # This is the same as count = count + 1

"break" and "continue" statements

break is used to exit a for loop or a while loop, whereas continue is used to skip the current block, and return to the "for" or "while" statement. A few examples:

# Prints out 0,1,2,3,4

count = 0
while True:
    print(count)
    count += 1
    if count >= 5:
        break

# Prints out only odd numbers - 1,3,5,7,9
for x in range(10):
    # Check if x is even
    if x % 2 == 0:
        continue
    print(x)

Can we use "else" clause for loops?

Unlike languages like C,CPP.. we can use else for loops. When the loop condition of "for" or "while" statement fails then code part in "else" is executed. If a break statement is executed inside the for loop then the "else" part is skipped. Note that the "else" part is executed even if there is a continue statement.

Here are a few examples:

# Prints out 0,1,2,3,4 and then it prints "count value reached 5"

count=0
while(count<5):
    print(count)
    count +=1
else:
    print("count value reached %d" %(count))

# Prints out 1,2,3,4
for i in range(1, 10):
    if(i%5==0):
        break
    print(i)
else:
    print("this is not printed because for loop is terminated because of break but not due to fail in condition")

Exercise

Loop through and print out all even numbers from the numbers list in the same order they are received. Don't print any numbers that come after 237 in the sequence.

numbers = [ 951, 402, 984, 651, 360, 69, 408, 319, 601, 485, 980, 507, 725, 547, 544, 615, 83, 165, 141, 501, 263, 617, 865, 575, 219, 390, 984, 592, 236, 105, 942, 941, 386, 462, 47, 418, 907, 344, 236, 375, 823, 566, 597, 978, 328, 615, 953, 345, 399, 162, 758, 219, 918, 237, 412, 566, 826, 248, 866, 950, 626, 949, 687, 217, 815, 67, 104, 58, 512, 24, 892, 894, 767, 553, 81, 379, 843, 831, 445, 742, 717, 958, 609, 842, 451, 688, 753, 854, 685, 93, 857, 440, 380, 126, 721, 328, 753, 470, 743, 527 ] # your code goes here for number in numbers: numbers = [ 951, 402, 984, 651, 360, 69, 408, 319, 601, 485, 980, 507, 725, 547, 544, 615, 83, 165, 141, 501, 263, 617, 865, 575, 219, 390, 984, 592, 236, 105, 942, 941, 386, 462, 47, 418, 907, 344, 236, 375, 823, 566, 597, 978, 328, 615, 953, 345, 399, 162, 758, 219, 918, 237, 412, 566, 826, 248, 866, 950, 626, 949, 687, 217, 815, 67, 104, 58, 512, 24, 892, 894, 767, 553, 81, 379, 843, 831, 445, 742, 717, 958, 609, 842, 451, 688, 753, 854, 685, 93, 857, 440, 380, 126, 721, 328, 753, 470, 743, 527 ] # your code goes here for number in numbers: if number == 237: break if number % 2 == 1: continue print(number) test_object("number", undefined_msg="Define a object `number` using the code from the tutorial to print just the desired numbers from the exercise description.",incorrect_msg="Your `number` object is not correct, You should use an `if` statement and a `break` statement to accomplish your goal.") success_msg("Great work!")

This site is generously supported by DataCamp. DataCamp offers online interactive Python Tutorials for Data Science. Join over a million other learners and get started learning Python for data science today!

Ready to take the test? Head onto LearnX and get your Python Certification!

Previous Tutorial Next Tutorial Take the Test
Copyright © learnpython.org. Read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy