Why there is no do while loop in python

Bahubali Patil picture Bahubali Patil · May 17, 2016 · Viewed 35.3k times · Source

Why doesn't Python have a 'do while' loop like many other programming language, such as C?

Example : In the C we have do while loop as below :

do {
   statement(s);
} while( condition );

Answer

Martijn Pieters picture Martijn Pieters · May 17, 2016

There is no do...while loop because there is no nice way to define one that fits in the statement: indented block pattern used by every other Python compound statement. As such proposals to add such syntax have never reached agreement.

Nor is there really any need to have such a construct, not when you can just do:

while True:
    # statement(s)
    if not condition:
        break

and have the exact same effect as a C do { .. } while condition loop.

See PEP 315 -- Enhanced While Loop:

Rejected [...] because no syntax emerged that could compete with the following form:

    while True:
        <setup code>
        if not <condition>:
            break
        <loop body>

A syntax alternative to the one proposed in the PEP was found for a basic do-while loop but it gained little support because the condition was at the top:

    do ... while <cond>:
        <loop body>

or, as Guido van Rossum put it:

Please reject the PEP. More variations along these lines won't make the language more elegant or easier to learn. They'd just save a few hasty folks some typing while making others who have to read/maintain their code wonder what it means.