The while
loop in Swift is another loop that allows us to iterate indefinitely as long as a condition is true
.
while condition {
// run while condition remains true
}
while
loops are particularly useful when we don’t know how long we need to loop for. Let’s say we have a simple dice game where the count of the numbers we’ve rolled is kept. The objective of this game is to keep rolling until we reach a count of 30. We know we’ll get to 30 eventually, but we’re not sure how many rolls we’ll need to get there. Coding it up we get:
var count = 0;
while count < 30 {
let rollDice = Int.random(in: 1...6);
count += rollDice;
}
Let’s take a look at what’s going on:
while
keyword, which accepts the condition: count < 30
.{}
after the condition, just like the for
–in
loop. During each iteration of the loop, the code in the body is executed.rollDice
with a value of Int.random(in: 1...6)
in the body. We declare a new rollDice
with a random number between 1
and 6
in each iteration of the loop.rollDice
as well as adding rollDice
to count
. The loop will eventually come to an end when the count
is at least 30.count
because of our stopping condition. If we forget, our while
will keep running until we tell it to stop. An infinite loop is a non-terminating loop with no end. Until we manually close it, it will continue to run and consume our computer’s resources. As a result, make sure your loop has a way to end.Here are some useful tools to help you along your journey!
Setting up an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) can be difficult for beginners. The Online Compiler will enable you to run your code inside your browser without the need to install an IDE. If you need a more detailed explanation of a specific topic, the best place to find answers is in the Official Documentation.