Java loops
It would be completely reasonable to ask what loops have to do with programming. But they are exactly what the name implies. They are a way of repeating the same part of the code more than once or looping over the same part of code, although potentially for a different outcome each time.
This can simply mean doing the same thing until the code being looped over (iterated) prompts the loop to end. It could be a predetermined number of iterations, as specified by the loop code itself, or it might be until a predetermined situation or condition is met. Or, it could be a combination of more than one of these things. Along with if
, else
, and switch
, which we will learn about in the next chapter, loops are part of Java's control flow statements.
Here, we will learn how to repeatedly execute portions of our code in a controlled and precise way by looking at diverse types of loops in Java. Think about the conundrum of drawing all the grid lines in the Sub' Hunter...