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
• 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 (cont’d.)

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The while Loop: a Condition-
Controlled Loop (cont’d.)
• 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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Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
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
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The for Loop: a Count-
Controlled Loop
• 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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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: calculate square root of each
number in a range

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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
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)

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Calculating a Running Total
• 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
(cont’d.)

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The Augmented Assignment
Operators
• 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 (cont’d.)

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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
• 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
(cont’d.)
• 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
(cont’d.)

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Nested Loops
• 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 (cont’d.)
• 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_iterations_inner x
number_iterations_outer

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Turtle Graphics: Using Loops
to Draw Designs
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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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