Iteration, while loop, and for loop

[Veek M]

Elizabeth Weiss wrote:

> words=["hello", "world", "spam", "eggs"]
> counter=0
> max_index=len(words)-1
> 
> while counter<=max_index:
> word=words[counter]
> print(word + "!")
> counter=counter + 1


while 0 < 10:
  get 0'th element
  do something with element
  increment 0 to 1
(repeat)


words[0] gets the 0'th word (arrays/lists start at 0, not 1)
--------------------

That example of his is badly presented..

1. use i, x, y, z, count in that order for integers
2. do your dirty work in a function
3. keep loops clean and tidy
4. keep data far away from code
5. avoid " when ' does the trick
6. try to create black box functions - that work no matter what you 
throw at them.. without sacrificing readability - programming is about 
aesthetics and readability - quite artsy..

(I'm not an expert so.. some of this might be outright wrong)

words=['hello', 'world', 'spam', 'eggs']

def display(txt, decoration='!'):
  message = str(txt) + str(decoration)
  print(message)

i = 0
i_max = len(words) - 1

while i <= i_max:
  word = words[i]
  i += 1
  display(word)

languages that don't have 'for' like C, will use 'while' - in python 
'for' is preferred - faster, readable - especially for the example you 
cited.