While Loops In Python

In the previous tutorial we discussed about loops in

general, what they are and their benefits, why should we
use them, along with syntax, and working for “for” loop. If
you haven’t gone through that tutorial till now I will
recommend you to go through that first so it will be easier
for you to learn the concept of while loop, once you have
the concept, what loops generally are.

Now as we know now what loops are and why they are
used, in this section, I will go directly towards the working
and syntax of while loop along with its comparison with
for loop and where to use it.

“A while loop in python runs a bunch of code or

statements again and again until the given condition is
true when the condition becomes false, the loop
terminates its repetition.”

The syntax for while loop is simple and very much like for
loop. We have to use the keyword “while”, along with it we
have to put a condition in parenthesis and after that, a
colon is placed. The condition could be either true or
false. Until the condition is true, the loop will keep on
executing again and again. If we use a certain sort of
condition in our while loop that, it never becomes false
then the program will keep on running endlessly, until we
stop it by force. So, this kind of mistake in our syntax is
known as logical/human error.

To terminate an infinite loop, you can press Ctrl+C on

your system.

For vs While:

A “for” statement loop runs until the iteration through, set,

lists, tuple, etc. or a generator function is completed. In
case of while loop the statement simply loops until the
condition, we have provided becomes false. We generally
use for loops for areas where we are already familiar with
the number of iterations and use while loop where the
number of iterations are unknown. Because while loop is
solely based on the state of its condition.

Let us understand the concept of the while loop and why

we use it in areas where the number of iterations are not
defined or we do not have any idea how many iterations
would take place with the help of an example. Suppose
that we have created an application for an ATM from
where a customer can only withdraw money up to 5000
rupees. Now our condition in the while loop would be to
iterate unless the input is between 1 to 5000. So, the
condition will be true unless the user inputs a number
between 1 to 5000, so the loop will iterate depending upon
the time until the user submits the wrong input. The
example is a bit rough, but I hope it helps you clear your
concepts.