Python for loop

last modified January 29, 2024

Python for loop tutorial shows how to create loops in Python with for statement.

Python loop definition

A loop is a sequence of instructions that is continually repeated until a certain condition is reached. For instance, we have a collection of items and we create a loop to go through all elements of the collection. Loops in Python can be created with for or while statements.

Python for statement

Python for statement iterates over the items of any sequence (such as a list or a string), in the order that they appear in the sequence.

for var in sequence: do_statement(s)

The above is the general syntax of the Python for statement.

Python for loop with string

The following example uses Python for statement to go through a string.

for_loop_string.py

#!/usr/bin/python

word = “cloud”

for let in word:

print(let)

We have a string defined. With the for loop, we print the letters of the word one by one to the terminal.

$ ./for_loop_string.py c l o u d

Python for loop else

The for loop has an optional else statement which is executed when the looping has finished.

for_loop_else.py

#!/usr/bin/python

words = [“cup”, “star”, “monkey”, “bottle”, “paper”, “door”]

for word in words:

print(word)

else:

print("Finished looping")    

We go over the list of words with a for loop. When the iteration is over, we print the “Finished looping” message which is located in the body following the else keyword.

$ ./for_loop_else.py cup star monkey bottle paper door Finished looping

Python for loops with range

Python range function generates a list of numbers.

range(n)

The function generates numbers 0…n-1.

range(start, stop, [step])

The function generates a sequence of numbers; it begins with start and ends with stop, which is not included in the sequence. The step is the increment and defaults to 1 if not provided.

With the help of the range function, we can repeat a code block n times.

repeating_statement.py

#!/usr/bin/python

for i in range(1, 6):

print(f"Statement executed {i}")

The code example executes the code block five times.

$ ./repeating_statement.py Statement executed 1 Statement executed 2 Statement executed 3 Statement executed 4 Statement executed 5

In the next example we generate two sequences of integers with for loop.

for_loop_range.py

#!/usr/bin/python

for n in range(1, 11):

print(n, end=' ')

print()

for n in range(0, 11, 2):

print(n, end=' ')    

print()

The example prints two sequences of integers: 1, 2, …10 and 0, 2, …10.

$ ./for_loop_range.py 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0 2 4 6 8 10

Python looping over a tuple and list

With Python for loop, we can easily traverse Python tuples and lists.

for_loop_tuple_list.py

#!/usr/bin/python

nums = (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
words = [“cup”, “star”, “monkey”, “bottle”]

for n in nums:

print(n, end=' ')

print()

for word in words:

print(word, end=' ')

print()

The code example prints the elements of a tuple and a list.

$ ./for_loop_tuple_list.py 1 2 3 4 5 6 cup star monkey bottle

Python looping with index

Sometimes we need to get the index of the element as well; for this we can use the enumerate function.

for_loop_index.py

#!/usr/bin/python

words = (“cup”, “star”, “monkey”, “bottle”, “paper”, “door”)

for idx, word in enumerate(words):

print(f"{idx}: {word}")

With the help of the enumerate function, we print the element of the list with its index.

$ ./for_loop_index.py 0: cup 1: star 2: monkey 3: bottle 4: paper 5: door

Python looping over a dictionary

In the following example, we loop over a Python dictionary.

for_loop_dictionary.py

#!/usr/bin/python

data = { “de”: “Germany”, “sk”: “Slovakia”, “hu”: “Hungary”, “ru”: “Russia” }

for k, v in data.items():

print(f"{k} is an abbreviation for {v}")

The code example prints the keys and the values of the Python dictionary.

$ ./for_loop_dictionary.py sk is an abbreviation for Slovakia ru is an abbreviation for Russia hu is an abbreviation for Hungary de is an abbreviation for Germany

Python nested for loop

It is possible to nest a for loop into another loop.

for_loop_nested.py

#!/usr/bin/python

nums = [[1, 2, 3], [4, 5, 6], [7, 8, 9]]

for i in nums:

for e in i:
    
    print(e, end=' ')

print()

We have a two-dimensional list of integers. We loop over the elements with two for loops.

$ ./for_loop_nested.py 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Python for loop with zip

The zip function creates an iterator from the given iterables.

for_loop_zip.py

#!/usr/bin/python

words1 = [“cup”, “bottle”, “table”, “rock”, “apple”] words2 = [“trousers”, “nail”, “head”, “water”, “pen”]

for w1, w2 in zip(words1, words2):

print(w1, w2)

In the example, we iterate over two lists in one for loop.

$ ./for_loop_zip.py cup trousers bottle nail table head rock water apple pen

Python looping custom iterable

In the next example we loop over a custom iterable.

for_loop_custom_iterable.py

#!/usr/bin/python

import random

def myrandom(x):

i = 0

while i < x:
    
    r = random.randint(0, 100)
    
    yield r
    
    i = i + 1

for r in myrandom(5):

print(r)

The code example creates a generator function that yields random integers. With the for loop we generate five random integers.

$ ./for_loop_custom_iterable.py 14 43 53 44 70

Python for loop with break

The break statement terminates the for loop.

for_loop_break.py

#!/usr/bin/python

import random import itertools

for i in itertools.count():

val = random.randint(1, 30) print(val)

if val == 22: break

In the example, we create an endless for loop. We generate and print random numbers from 1…29. If the generated number equals to 22, the for loop is ended with the break keyword.

$ ./for_loop_break.py 7 27 2 27 7 9 3 25 15 22

Python for loop with continue

The continue keyword is used to interrupt the current cycle, without jumping out of the whole loop. It initiates a new cycle.

for_loop_continue.py

#!/usr/bin/python

num = 0

for num in range(1000):

num = num + 1

if num % 2 == 0: continue

print(num, end=’ ‘)

print()

We print all numbers smaller than 1000 that cannot be divided by number 2 without a remainder.

Source

The Python Language Reference

In this article we have worked with Python for loops.

Author

My name is Jan Bodnar, and I am a passionate programmer with extensive programming experience. I have been writing programming articles since 2007. To date, I have authored over 1,400 articles and 8 e-books. I possess more than ten years of experience in teaching programming.

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