Equivalence of for Loop and while Loop

Learn how to convert a for loop into a while loop in this lesson.

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Let’s look at an example of for loop:

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 for ($i=0 ; $i<10 ; $i++){
   $i = $i*2;
   print "Value of i is: $i\n";
 }
 print "Final value of i is: $i\n";

Converting a for loop into a while loop

The above for loop can easily be rewritten as a while loop.

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$i=0 ;
while ($i<10) {
  $i = $i*2;
  print "Value of i is: $i\n";
  $i++;
}
print "Final value of i is: $i\n";

for loop vs. while loop

A for loop is more often used by programmers due to its conciseness as well as its separation of the looping logic.

A while loop is often preferred if a certain section of code needs to be repeated for an indefinite number of times until a condition is met.

However, the two are equivalent. Therefore, it is ultimately a coding style decision, not a technical decision about whether to use one or the other.