Video: For Loops

When you use a repeat block to loop your code, how does the computer know when it's repeated enough times? The repeat block is actually hiding a more sophisticated piece of code called a for loop which counts from a starting value up to an ending value by a specific increment.

For example, a repeat three block counts from 1 to 3 by 1. Every time it counts, it runs the code inside the loop. The for loop knows how many times it has run by using a counter variable which is set to the starting value at the beginning of the loop and has the increment added to it each time the loop is run. As soon as the counter variable is greater than the ending value, the loop stops running. The benefit of using a real for loop instead of the repeat block is that you can actually see the counter variable and use it in your loop.