In general, statements are executed sequentially: The first statement in a function is executed first, followed by the second, and so on. There may be a situation when you need to execute a block of code several number of times.
Programming languages provide various control structures that allow for more complicated execution paths.
A loop statement allows us to execute a statement or group of statements multiple times. The following diagram illustrates a loop statement −
Python programming language provides following types of loops to handle looping requirements.
| Sr.No. | Loop Type & Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | while loop Repeats a statement or group of statements while a given condition is TRUE. It tests the condition before executing the loop body. |
| 2 | for loop Executes a sequence of statements multiple times and abbreviates the code that manages the loop variable. |
| 3 | nested loops You can use one or more loop inside any another while, for or do..while loop. |
Loop Control Statements
Loop control statements change execution from its normal sequence. When execution leaves a scope, all automatic objects that were created in that scope are destroyed.
Python supports the following control statements.
Let us go through the loop control statements briefly
| Sr.No. | Control Statement & Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | break statement Terminates the loop statement and transfers execution to the statement immediately following the loop. |
| 2 | continue statement Causes the loop to skip the remainder of its body and immediately retest its condition prior to reiterating. |
| 3 | pass statement The pass statement in Python is used when a statement is required syntactically but you do not want any command or code to execute. |