while Loop
The structure of a while
loop:
initialize condition variable(s) while condition do these statements % body of while loop update condition variable(s) end
where condition is a boolean expression comparing the condition variables.
The way a while
loop works is as follows:
- The variables tested in the condition are assigned their initial values.
- The condition expression is evaluated.
- If the condition evaluates to true,
then the statements in the body of the
while
loop are executed. The body of the loop must also include a way for the values of the condition variables to be updated, or an infinite loop will result. - After the body of the
while
loop has finished executing, control goes back to the top of thewhile
loop. - This process repeats until the condition expression evaluates to false.
- If the condition evaluates to false, the statements in the body
of the while loop are skipped and control continues at the next statement after the
while
loop.
As in the if
statement, the while
statement uses
end
to indicate the end of the loop.