Perl for Loop

The Perl for loop is a control statement that allows you to execute a block of code repeatedly for a fixed number of times. It is ideal for iterating through a sequence of values, such as an array or a range of numbers.

Syntax

The syntax of the Perl for loop is as follows:

for (initialization; condition; increment) {
    # code to be executed
}

• initialization - initializes the loop variable
• condition - specifies the test to be evaluated on each iteration of the loop
• increment - updates the loop variable after each iteration of the loop

Example

# print numbers from 1 to 10
for ($i = 1; $i <= 10; $i++) {
    print "$i\n";
}

In this example, the for loop initializes the loop variable $i to 1, tests if it is less than or equal to 10, executes the code block that prints the value of $i, and updates $i with each iteration of the loop.

Looping through an array

You can use the Perl for loop to iterate over the elements of an array:

@numbers = (1, 2, 3, 4, 5);
for $num (@numbers) {
    print "$num\n";
}

In this example, the for loop iterates through each element of the @numbers array and prints its value.

Nested loops

You can nest Perl for loops to create more complex iterations:

for ($i = 1; $i <= 3; $i++) {
    for ($j = 1; $j <= 3; $j++) {
        print "$i, $j\n";
    }
}

In this example, the outer for loop iterates through the values of $i from 1 to 3. For each value of $i, the inner for loop iterates through the values of $j from 1 to 3 and prints the value of both variables.

Conclusion

The Perl for loop is a powerful control statement that allows you to iterate over a sequence of values. It is a fundamental tool for any Perl programmer and can be used to solve a wide range of programming challenges.