CSBP119​

Algorithms & Problem Solving​

CIT, UAEU

Chapter 4
Repetition Structures

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 Topics

• Introduction to Repetition Structures

• The while Loop: a Condition-Controlled Loop
• The for Loop: a Count-Controlled Loop
• Calculating a Running Total
• Sentinels
• Input Validation Loops
• Nested Loops
• Turtle Graphics: Using Loops to Draw Designs

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 Introduction to Repetition Structures

• Often have to write code that performs the same

task multiple times
• Disadvantages to duplicating code
• Makes program large
• Time consuming
• May need to be corrected in many places
• Repetition structure: makes computer repeat
included code as necessary
• Includes condition-controlled loops and count-
controlled loops

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 The while Loop: a Condition-
Controlled Loop (1 of 4)
• while loop: while condition is true, do something
• Two parts:
• Condition tested for true or false value
• Statements repeated as long as condition is true
• In flow chart, line goes back to previous part
• General format:
while condition:
statements

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 The while Loop: a Condition-
Controlled Loop (2 of 4)

Figure 4-1 The logic of a while loop

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 The while Loop: a Condition-
Controlled Loop (3 of 4)
• In order for a loop to stop executing, something
has to happen inside the loop to make the
condition false
• Iteration: one execution of the body of a loop
• while loop is known as a pretest loop
• Tests condition before performing an iteration
• Will never execute if condition is false to start with
• Requires performing some steps prior to the loop

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 The while Loop: a Condition-
Controlled Loop (4 of 4)
Example: Try this code

Figure 4-3 Flowchart for Program 4-1

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 Infinite Loops

• Loops must contain within themselves a way to

terminate
• Something inside a while loop must eventually make
the condition false
• Infinite loop: loop that does not have a way of
stopping
• Repeats until program is interrupted
• Occurs when programmer forgets to include stopping
code in the loop
Example: Remove lines 19 to 21 from the previous example and
run it again. What is the output?
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 The for Loop: a Count-Controlled
Loop (1 of 2)
• Count-Controlled loop: iterates a specific
number of times
• Use a for statement to write count-controlled loop
• Designed to work with sequence of data items
• Iterates once for each item in the sequence
• General format:
for variable in [val1, val2, etc]:
statements
• Target variable: the variable which is the target of the
assignment at the beginning of each iteration

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 The for Loop: a Count-Controlled
Loop (2 of 2)
Example: Try this code

Figure 4-4 The for loop

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Using the range Function with the for
Loop
• The range function simplifies the process of
writing a for loop
• range returns an iterable object
• Iterable: contains a sequence of values that can be iterated
over
• range characteristics:
• One argument: used as ending limit
• Two arguments: starting value and ending limit
• Three arguments: third argument is step value

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 Using the Target Variable Inside the
Loop
• Purpose of target variable is to reference each
item in a sequence as the loop iterates
• Target variable can be used in calculations or
tasks in the body of the loop
Example: Try this code

Example: calculate square root of each number in a

range from 25 until 100 (can you implement it ?)
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 Letting the User Control the Loop
Iterations
• Sometimes the programmer does not know
exactly how many times the loop will execute
• Can receive range inputs from the user, place
them in variables, and call the range function in
the for clause using these variables

Example: Try this code

- Be sure to consider the
end cases: range does not
include the ending limit

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 Generating an Iterable Sequence that
Ranges from Highest to Lowest
• The range function can be used to generate a
sequence with numbers in descending order
• Make sure starting number is larger than end limit,
and step value is negative
• Example: range(10, 0, -1)

Example: What will the following code display ?

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 Calculating a Running Total (1 of 2)

• Programs often need to calculate a total of a

series of numbers
• Typically include two elements:
• A loop that reads each number in series
• An accumulator variable
• Known as program that keeps a running total:
accumulates total and reads in series
• At end of loop, accumulator will reference the total

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 Calculating a Running Total (2 of 2)
Example: Change the following code to match the flowchart

Figure 4-6 Logic for calculating a running total

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The Augmented Assignment Operators
(1 of 2)

• In many assignment statements, the variable on

the left side of the = operator also appears on
the right side of the = operator
• Augmented assignment operators: special set of
operators designed for this type of job
• Shorthand operators

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The Augmented Assignment Operators
(2 of 2)

Table 4-2 Augmented assignment operators

Operator Example Usage Equivalent To

=+ x += 5 x = x + 5
=− y −= 2 y = y − 2
=* z *= 10 z = z * 10
=/ a /= b a = a / b
=% c %= 3 c = c % 3
=// x //= 3 x = x // 3
=** y **= 2 y = y**2

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 Sentinels

• Sentinel: special value that marks the end of a

sequence of items
• When program reaches a sentinel, it knows that the
end of the sequence of items was reached, and the
loop terminates
• Must be distinctive enough so as not to be mistaken
for a regular value in the sequence
• Example: when reading an input file, empty line can
be used as a sentinel

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 Input Validation Loops (1 of 3)

• Computer cannot tell the difference between

good data and bad data
• If user provides bad input, program will produce bad
output
• GIGO: garbage in, garbage out
• It is important to design program such that bad input
is never accepted

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 Input Validation Loops (2 of 3)

• Input validation: inspecting input before it is

processed by the program
• If input is invalid, prompt user to enter correct data
• Commonly accomplished using a while loop which
repeats as long as the input is bad
• If input is bad, display error message and receive another set
of data
• If input is good, continue to process the input

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 Input Validation Loops (3 of 3)
Example: Try this code

Figure 4-7 Logic containing an input validation loop

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 Nested Loops (1 of 3)

• Nested loop: loop that is contained inside

another loop
• Example: analog clock works like a nested loop
• Hours hand moves once for every twelve movements of the
minutes hand: for each iteration of the “hours,” do twelve
iterations of “minutes”
• Seconds hand moves 60 times for each movement of the
minutes hand: for each iteration of “minutes,” do 60 iterations
of “seconds”

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 Nested Loops (2 of 3)
Example: Try this code
What is the output?

Example: Now add the hours loop

What is the output?

Figure 4-8 Flowchart for a clock simulator

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 Nested Loops (3 of 3)

• Key points about nested loops:

• Inner loop goes through all of its iterations for each
iteration of outer loop
• Inner loops complete their iterations faster than outer
loops
• Total number of iterations in nested loop:

number of iterations of inner loop X number of iterations of outer loop

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 Optional Slides

TURTLE GRAPHICS

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 Turtle Graphics: Using Loops to Draw
Designs (1 of 4)
• You can use loops with the turtle to draw both
simple shapes and elaborate designs. For
example, the following for loop iterates four
times to draw a square that is 100 pixels wide:

for x in range(4):
turtle.forward(100)
turtle.right(90)

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 Turtle Graphics: Using Loops to Draw
Designs (2 of 4)
• This for loop iterates eight times to draw the
octagon:

for x in range(8):
turtle.forward(100)
turtle.right(45)

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 Turtle Graphics: Using Loops to Draw
Designs (3 of 4)
• You can create interesting designs by repeatedly
drawing a simple shape, with the turtle tilted at a
slightly different angle each time it draws the
shape.
NUM_CIRCLES = 36 # Number of circles to draw
RADIUS = 100 # Radius of each circle
ANGLE = 10 # Angle to turn

for x in range(NUM_CIRCLES):
turtle.circle(RADIUS)
turtle.left(ANGLE)

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 Turtle Graphics: Using Loops to Draw
Designs (4 of 4)
• This code draws a sequence of 36 straight lines
to make a "starburst" design.
START_X = -200 # Starting X coordinate
START_Y = 0 # Starting Y coordinate
NUM_LINES = 36 # Number of lines to draw
LINE_LENGTH = 400 # Length of each line
ANGLE = 170 # Angle to turn
 
turtle.hideturtle()
turtle.penup()
turtle.goto(START_X, START_Y)
turtle.pendown()
 
for x in range(NUM_LINES):
turtle.forward(LINE_LENGTH)
turtle.left(ANGLE)

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 Summary

• This chapter covered:

• Repetition structures, including:
• Condition-controlled loops
• Count-controlled loops
• Nested loops
• Infinite loops and how they can be avoided
• range function as used in for loops
• Calculating a running total and augmented
assignment operators
• Use of sentinels to terminate loops
• Using loops to draw turtle graphic designs

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