More Loops in Your Code

Transcript

We probably all know a story where a character gets trapped and the same day is repeated over and over. This continues until they realize why they got stuck in the loop. By correcting a mistake or getting to the source of the loop, the hero can return to the normal time flow.

Yeah, early video games are really quite alike, you would repeat the same thing again and again. GIF images are an example of loops as well. Loops are about doing the same thing over and over. In computer programming. This is not so different. A loop is a series of instructions that are continually repeated until a certain condition is reached. Examples of loops are the “do while” loop and the “if then” loop. Both of these instructions in the code help to explain to a computer what you want it to do while or when something happens. Until then, they repeat the same pattern.

Imagine a scenario where you are waiting for something to happen, you would do something while you wait for the action. When the event finally happens, you would go on to do something else. Most loops execute only a certain number of times until when something else happens to loop. Loops that run forever, are called infinite loops. Usually, an infinite loop results from a programming error. For example, where the conditions for exit are written incorrectly. intentionally created infinite loops are often found in viruses. But infinite loops can happen without viruses. If a loop is built without naming a trigger, it will be executed forever. The main problem with infinite loops is that they use up all of the computer's resources. At a certain point, this makes it impossible to use the computer for anything else and the computer will freeze.

There are however, a few situations when an infinite loop is actually desired. But most often, an infinite loop is not the intended result and is referred to as a bug. Such errors are most common among new programmers, but can be made by experienced programmers as well. One small mistake can lead to big problems