FAQ: Learn Python: Loops - Create a For Loop

FAQ Python FAQ
#1

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This community-built FAQ covers the “Create a For Loop” exercise from the lesson “Learn Python: Loops”.

Paths and Courses
This exercise can be found in the following Codecademy content:

Computer Science
Data Science

FAQs on the exercise Create a For Loop

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#2

5 posts were split to a new topic: What is the type of a temporary variable in a for loop?

#3

Just a question about what can used in the for loop. From the lesson,

The general way of writing a for loop is:

for <temporary variable> in <list variable>:
    <action>

Is “list” saying that the variable has to be a list type or is it casting the variable to a list? Couldn’t you use any thing you could iterate on like a range(x)?

#4

python has no concept of casting

the specification of what you iterate through is an expression, it does not need to be a list it does not need to be a variable it does need to be iterable

the variable is not temporary, it exists after the loop as well. it’s a variable, nothing special

#6

This is a separate question.

I am just wondering why we can’t assign more than 1 word to the temporary variable?

For example, ‘board game’ instead of just ‘game’?

The one way I found that I can resolve it is putting an underscore in between (board_game).

#8

“Why can’t we assign more than one word to the temporary variable?”

Remember a variable is like a box, the specific collection of symbols/characters is the label that tells us what’s in the box.
Each collection of symbols has a specific definition/purpose. By using a space you’re using two separate collections (aka words) that then require two separate definitions. Remember computers don’t speak english, they don’t know what a word (variable) means they just know that this collection of symbols refers to this other collection of symbols.