Question

Python noob; please explain why this loop doesn’t exit.

for i in range(0,10):
  print "Hello, World!"
  if i == 5: i = 15
  print i
next

regards

Answer 1

You are iterating over a range object, which is just a collection of values ranging from 0...10. There is no logic behind it, as it is just a collection of numbers.

The for item in set syntax essentially just loops over every element in the set, breaking only when every item has been looped over.

Your code is not equivalent to a C++ for loop, which would produce your desired result:

for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
  if (i == 5) {
    i = 15;
  }
}

If you want to break out of the loop, just break the loop:

for i in range(0,10):
  print "Hello, World!"
  if i == 5: break
  print i