Loops are programming constructs that help you repeat an action an arbitrary number of times.

The methods Array#each, Array#select etc. are the most frequently used loops since the primary use of loops is to iterate over or transform a collection, something that we'll learn in the chapter on "Arrays in Ruby."

Here we will cover two basic looping constructs you can use to solve most other looping requirements that may come up.

Infinite Loops

Infinite loops keep running till you explicitly ask them to stop. They are syntactically the simplest to write. Here goes one:

loop do 
    puts "this line will be executed for an infinite amount of time" 
 end

The example above does not have a termination condition and hence will run till the process is stopped. A loop can be halted from within using the break command.

Now write an infinite loop where the monk will meditate till he achieves Nirvana. Use the break statement once Nirvana is reached.

# you have to change the following statement (into multiple ones if needed) # so that the monk meditates till monk.nirvana? becomes true. monk.meditate unless monk.nirvana?

[reset] Need a hint? See the Solution

Hint

You'll have to check whether the monk has achieved nirvana using monk.nirvana? and break if so.

If you see the error 'This thread has taken more than X seconds', it means your break is not working, and the code is in fact running without any possible termination.

Remember that unless x is equivalent to if !x. We cover Ruby's conditional branching statements in the RubyMonk Primer: The if..else construct lesson.

Output Window

Run a block of code N times

Say N is 5, let us imagine how it might look.

5.times do
    # do the stuff that needs to be done
  end

Well, we imagined it right. It is that simple!

Here is a task for you to test your newly learned looping skills. We have a bell outside our monastery that people can ring in times of need. Write a method that can ring the bell N times, where N is a parameter passed to the method.

# add a loop inside this method to ring the bell 'n' times def ring(bell, n) bell.ring end

[reset] Need a hint? See the Solution

Hint

Output Window

We've only scratched the surface of the various ways in which Ruby lets you write loops. However, this should be enough for the most common use cases. Let us know if you need more!