Python Basics

Conditional Statements and Loops

 Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

Implement decision control structures in Python

Learn different types of loops in Python

Learn to implement loop control statements

Describe and use the range function in Python

 Business Scenario

ABC is an e-commerce organization that deals with the listing of online products
based on their purchase, reviews, and availability. The users filter these products
based on multiple factors. The products are listed only if it matches a few criteria,
else an error is displayed.

The organization is supposed to develop this module with the help of control
structure, implement range functions to filter based on the ranges, and
implement looping control statements.

In this lesson, we will explore the following:

• Decision control structures in Python

• Loops, loop control structures, and loop-else statements in Python

Decision Control Structures in Python
Discussion
Decision Control Statements

How can decisions be made in Python?

• What is decision-making in Python?

• What are the types of decision-making statements and why they are
needed?
 Decision Making

Decision-making is the process of making choices or performing tasks based on conditions.

Decision control structures evaluate variables or expressions that return either True or False as an outcome.

Start

Condition

Expression

Statement in Statement in
ifAction/ta
branch else branch
sk

Stop
 Decision Control Structures: Scenario

Start

Rain

Rains
● Based on weather conditions, I can choose Condition tomorrow
my activities throughout the day. morning?

● IF it rains tomorrow morning, I will clean False

True
my room and do chores.
● ELSE, go swimming. Clean room and do
chores Swimming

Stop
 Nested if Statements

The scenario is explained in the following flowchart:

No
Raining
Start Go swimming
tomorrow?

Yes
Tidy up the cellar and
Clean room and do paint the walls
chores

Swimming
Some
time left?No
Some time Stop
left?

Yes

Do my taxes Do tax declaration

 Decision Control Structures

Four types of decision control structures are available in Python:

If-else
If statement statement

Control
structures in
Python

Nested-if If-elif-else
statement statement
 If Statement

Python uses the if statement to change the flow of control in the program.
The indentation is used to mark the block of code.

Syntax
if condition: • A colon marks the beginning of the block of code.
statement • The block of code is indented, usually at four spaces.
statement • Each statement in the block of code should be at the same
……. indentation.
 If Statement: Example

The following example illustrates the use of the if statement.

Example
 If-Else Statement

The if-else statement evaluates the condition and executes the body of if only when the
test condition is True. Otherwise, the body of the else block will be executed.

Syntax

if condition:
statement 1
statement 2
else:
statement 3
statement 4

The else statement is an optional statement in the if-else construct.

 If-Else Statement: Example

The following example illustrates the use of the if-else statement.

Example
 If-Elif-Else Statement

The if-elif-else statement allows checking for multiple conditions. If the condition
for if is False, it checks the condition of the next elif block and so on.

Syntax
if condition 1:
statement
elif condition 2:
statement
elif condition 3:
statement
else:
statement

Only one block among the several if-elif-else blocks is executed according to the condition.
If all the conditions are False, the body of else is executed.
 If-Elif-Else Statement: Example

The following example illustrates the use of the if-elif-else statement.

Example
 Nested-If

Python allows an if statement inside another if statement.

Syntax

if (condition 1):
statement
• This format is called nesting in programming.
# Executes when condition 1 is True
if (condition 2): • The level of nesting is defined by using
# Executes when condition 2 is also True indentation.
# inner if Block ends here
# outer if Block ends here
 Nested-If: Example

The following example illustrates the use of the nested-if statement.

Example
 True or False

Python evaluates the following objects as False:

• Numerical zero values

• Boolean value False
• Empty strings
• Empty list, tuples, and dictionaries
• None

All other values are considered True in Python.

Decision Control Statements

How can decisions be made in Python?

• What is decision-making in Python?

Answer: Decision-making is the process of making choices or performing
tasks based on conditions. Decision control structures and evaluate variables
or expressions that return either True or False as an outcome.

• What are the types of decision-making statements and why are

they needed?
Answer: The different decision-making statements are the If statement, If-
else statement, If-elif-else statement, and nested-if statement.
Loops
Discussion
 Loops

Are decision-making statements and loops the same?

• What are loops in Python?

• Identify the types of loops
 Loops

A loop statement allows the execution of a statement or group of statements multiple times.

Start

Tidy up the cellar and

paint the walls

Condition End
Swimming
Some
time left?

True

Execute Statement
Do tax declaration
 Types of Loops

The following types of loops are used to handle looping requirements.

Count Condition Collection

controlled loop controlled loop controlled loop
 Count Controlled Loop

A method of repeating a loop a predetermined number of times

Syntax

for <num> in <range>:

body of loop
 Condition Controlled Loop

A loop will be repeated until a given condition changes True to False or False to
True, depending on the type of loop.

Syntax

while <condition is true>:

body of loop
 Collection Controlled Loop

This is a special construct that allows looping through the elements of a

“collection,” which can be an array, list, or other ordered sequences.

Syntax

for <item> in <list>:

body of loop
 Loops in Python

Python supports for and while loop.

Start Start

Tidy up the Tidy up the

cellar and False
cellar and
Yespaint the walls
paint the walls
Last item Exit loop
reached? Condition Exit loop
Swimm Swimm
ing ing

No True

Execute Execute
Statement Do tax Statement Do tax
declaration declaration

For loop While loop

 Loops in Python

Python supports for loop and while loop.

for loop while loop

The for loop is used to iterate over a The while loop is used to iterate over a
sequence list, tuple, string, or other block of code if the test expression is
objects. Its syntax is: true. Its syntax is:

for a in iteration_object: while test_expression:

Body Body
of of
loop loop
 Loops in Python: Example

The following examples illustrate the use of for and while loops.

for loop while loop

 Nested Loops

A nested loop is a loop inside the body of the outer loop.

Syntax

The inner and outer loops can be of the different or the same type.
 Nested Loops: Flowchart

A nested loop is demonstrated in the following flowchart.

for each element

in the sequence

Yes Yes
Is this the last
element of
outer loop?

End of outer No
loop

Is this the last

element of
inner loop?

No
No

Inner loop
statements
 Nested Loops: Example

The following example illustrates the use of the nested loop.

Code to print multiplication table from 2 to 10

 Loops

Are decision-making statements and loops the same?

• What are loops in Python?

Answer: A loop statement allows the execution of a statement or group of
statements multiple times.

• Identify the types of loops

Answer: The types of loops include the count-controlled loop, the condition-
controlled loop, and the collection-controlled loop.
Loops Control Statements
Discussion
 Loop Control Statements

• What is the difference between break and continue?

• Give an example or scenario where break and continue can be used.

 Loops Control Statements

Loop control statements change the flow of execution in loops.

Python supports two such statements.

break Loop control

continue
statements
 Loops Control Statements: Break

Syntax
• The break statement breaks the
innermost enclosing of for or while
break loop.
• It terminates the nearest enclosing loop
and skips the optional else.
• If a loop is terminated by a break, the
loop variable keeps its current value.
 Break: Example

The following example illustrates the use of a break statement.

Example
 Loops Control Statements: Continue

Syntax
• The continue statement skips the
current iteration and continues with the
next iteration.
continue • It does not terminate the loop; it just
moves the control to the next iteration.
• Since the loop does not terminate
unexpectedly, it executes the optional
else block of the loop.
 Continue: Example

The following example illustrates the use of the continue statement.

Example
 Loop Control Statements

• What is the difference between break and continue?

Answer: The break statement breaks the innermost enclosing of for or while
loop, whereas the continue statement skips the current iteration and
continues with the next.

• Give an example or scenario to define where each of them can be used.

Answer: In case the optional else has to be used, the continue statement can
be used as it executes the optional else block of the loop, whereas, in another
case, the break statement can be used.
Loop Else Statements
 Loop Else Statement

Python allows the else The statements of the else

keyword to be used with block are executed after all
both the for and while the iterations are
loops. Plan completed.

The program exits the loop

Else clause is defined after the
only after the else block is
body of the loop.
executed.
 Loop Else Statement

The loop else statement is not executed when the loop is terminated because
of a break statement.

Normal Loop Loop with Else

Start Start

False Exit False Execute else

Condition Condition
Loop statement

True True

Execute statement Execute statement

 For Else Statement: Example

The following example illustrates the use of a for else statement.

Example
 While Else Statement: Example

The following example illustrates the use of a while else statement.

Example
 Range Function

The built-in function range can be used with loops to iterate over a sequence of numbers. It
generates an iterator of arithmetic progressions.

range(n) range()
range(start, stop)
syntax

The range object can be converted to a sequence collection using a function

such as list and tuples.
 Range(n) Function

It generates a sequence of n integer numbers starting from 0 and ending with (n-1).

Example
 Range(start, stop) Function

It generates a sequence of integer numbers starting with the start value and ending
with (stop-1).

Example
 Step in Range

The range() function has an additional optional step argument that specifies the increment of the
sequence.

Syntax

range(start, stop, step)

The default increment value is 1. The increment value can be positive or negative but
not zero.
 Step in Range: Example

Positive step value creates a forward Negative step value creates a reverse
sequence. sequence.

Example Example
 Key Takeaways

If-else conditional constructs are used to control the program's flow.

For and while loops are used to repeatedly execute statements.

The break and continue statements are used to skip some statements
inside the loop or terminate the loop immediately without checking the
condition.

Python supports the else clause with for and while loops.

Range function in Python is used to generate a range of numbers

and it also works with for loop.
Knowledge Check
Knowledge
Check
Which of the following is not used as a loop in Python?
1

A. for loop

B. while loop

C. do-while loop

D. None of the above

 Knowledge
Check
Which of the following is not used as a loop in Python?
1

A. for loop

B. while loop

C. do-while loop

D. None of the above

The correct answer is C

Python does not use the do-while as a loop.

Knowledge
Check
Which one of the following is a valid Python if statement?
2

A. if a>=2 :

B. if (a>=2)

C. if a>=22

D. if a=>22
 Knowledge
Check
Which one of the following is a valid Python if statement?
2

A. if a>=2 :

B. if (a>=2)

C. if a>=22

D. if a=>22

The correct answer is A

In Python, an if statement always ends with a colon.

Knowledge
Check
Where can the continue statement be used?
3

A. while loop

B. for loop

C. do-while loop

D. Both A and B
 Knowledge
Check
Where can the continue statement be used?
3

A. while loop

B. for loop

C. do-while loop

D. Both A and B

The correct answer is D

The continue statement can be used in both while and for loops.