Loop

A loop is a sequence of instructions that is repeated until a certain condition is met. An example would be the process of getting an item of data and changing it, and then making sure some {{Glossary("conditional", "condition")}} is checked — such as if a counter has reached a prescribed number.

Loops are one way to execute a statement for a variable number of times. The same effect can be achieved with {{glossary("Recursion", "recursion")}}, especially in languages where all data is {{glossary("Immutable", "immutable")}}, making it impossible to update a counter variable.

See also

• Control flow on Wikipedia
• Loops and iteration guide