In the Java programs you write, you will find many circumstances in which a loop is useful. To creat and control loops, you need to use a loop statement. One loop statement is the "for-loop".
for (int i = 0; i < 1000; i++ ) {
// do something here
}
while Loops
The while loop is useful in situations where you have some specific test that needs to be checked each time there is a loop. Unlike the for loop, you are not incrementing anything, instead you are merely checking for a given condition.
while (gameLives > 0) {
// the statements inside the loop go here
}
Be careful of infinite loops here!
do-while Loops
The while loop is very useful, however, it must check for a pre-existing condition first, and may not even run if the condition is false.
In those situations where you have a loop that needs to go through at least once you can use the "do-while" loop:
do {
// perform tasks here
} while (gameLives > 0);
Exiting a Loop
If you are inside a loop and must exit imediately without finishing the loop, the statement to use is "break".
while (true) {
// This is an infinite loop!
// Oh no! I need to get out of it!
break;
}
