Loops

A computer never gets tired of doing the same thing. A loop is how you say "repeat this" instead of typing the same lines by hand.

Repeat

repeat runs a block a given number of times.

stars = ""
repeat 5 times:
    stars = stars + "*"
say(stars)

*****

For … from … to

Often the number itself is what you need. for counts from the first number to the second, both ends included, and each time puts the current number into a name.

for i from 1 to 5:
    say(i, "× 7 =", i * 7)

1 × 7 = 7
2 × 7 = 14
3 × 7 = 21
4 × 7 = 28
5 × 7 = 35

Step

When counting by one is not enough, add step.

for i from 0 to 20 step 5:
    say(i)

0
5
10
15
20

While

while repeats a block as long as its condition is true. Make sure the condition turns false at some point, or the program never ends. In the Studio such a loop is stopped with the Stop button.

money = 10
while money >= 3:
    money = money - 3
say("Left", money)

Left 1

Break and continue

break leaves the loop altogether, and continue skips the rest of the block and goes to the next round.

for i from 1 to 10:
    if i == 5:
        break
    if i % 2 == 0:
        continue
    say(i)

1
3

Try it yourself

1. Print a countdown from 5 to 1.

i = 5
while i >= 1:
    say(i)
    i = i - 1

5
4
3
2
1

2. Add up every number from 1 to 100.

sum = 0
for i from 1 to 100:
    sum = sum + i
say("Sum:", sum)

Sum: 5050