Loops in GoLang

Go supports only one type of loop: the for loop. However, this for loop is highly flexible and can be used in various ways to simulate other looping constructs like while and do-while from other languages.

Types of For Loops in Go

1. Basic For Loop: This is similar to the for loop in other languages, with an initialization statement, a condition, and a post statement.

2. For-Range Loop: A special form of for used to iterate over elements in arrays, slices, maps, strings, etc.

3. While-like For Loop: In Go, you can create a while loop-like behavior by omitting the initialization and post statements.

4. Infinite For Loop: A for loop can be used without any conditions to create an infinite loop.

1. Basic For Loop

This loop has three components:

• Initialization: Executes once, before the loop starts.
• Condition: Checks before each iteration; if true, the loop continues.
• Post: Executes after each iteration.

Syntax:

package main
import "fmt"func main() {    Iteration: 1Iteration: 2Iteration: 3Iteration: 4

• The loop starts with i = 0, and continues until i < 5.
• After each iteration, i++ increments the value of i.

2. For-Range Loop

This is a simplified loop used to iterate over elements in arrays, slices, strings, maps, etc. It returns two values: the index and the value of the element.

Syntax:

for index, value := range collection {
    // Code to execute on each iteration}

If you only care about the value and not the index, you can omit the index by writing _ (underscore).

Example:

package main
import "fmt"func main() {    colors := []Index: 1 Color: GreenIndex: 2 Color: Blue

• The range keyword returns both the index and the value for each element in the slice.

3. While-like For Loop

In Go, you can create a while-like loop by omitting the initialization and post statements. The loop will keep running as long as the condition is true.

Syntax:

for condition {
    // Code to execute while the condition is true}

Example:

package main
import "fmt"func main() {    i := for {
    // Code to execute indefinitely}

Example:

package main
import "fmt"func main() {    count := package main
import "fmt"func main() {    for i := 0; i < 10; i++ {        if i == 5 {            continue // Skip the iteration when i is 5        }        if i == 8 {            break // Exit the loop when i is 8        }        fmt.Println(i)    }}

Output:

0
123467

• When i == 5, the continue statement skips the iteration.
• When i == 8, the break statement exits the loop.

Summary

• Basic for loop: A standard loop with initialization, condition, and post statements.
• For-range loop: Iterates over elements in arrays, slices, strings, and maps.
• While-like loop: A loop without initialization or post statements, similar to a while loop in other languages.
• Infinite loop: A loop that runs indefinitely until explicitly broken using break.
• Control statements: break and continue to control loop flow.

Go's loop constructs are flexible and efficient, providing a powerful way to handle various looping scenarios.