JavaScript do…while Loop

Summary: in this tutorial, you will learn how to use the JavaScript do...while statement to create a loop that executes a block until a condition is false.

Introduction to the JavaScript do…while statement

The do...while loop statement creates a loop that executes a block until a condition evaluates to false.

Here’s the syntax of the do...while loop:

do {
  statement;
} while(expression);Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

Unlike the while loop, the do-while loop always executes the statement at least once before evaluating the expression.

Since the do...while loop evaluates expression after each iteration, it’s often referred to as a post-test loop.

Inside the loop body, you need to make changes to some variables to ensure that the expression is false after some iterations. Otherwise, you’ll have an indefinite loop.

Note that starting with ES6+, the trailing semicolon (;) after the while(expression) is optional. So you can use the following syntax:

do {
  statement;
} while(expression)Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

The following flowchart illustrates the do-while loop statement:

In practice, you often use the do...while statement when you want to perform at least one iteration before checking the condition.

JavaScript do while statement examples

Let’s take some examples of using the do...while statement.

Basic JavaScript do while statement example

The following example uses the do...while statement to output five numbers from 0 to 4 to the console:

let count = 0;
do {
  console.log(count);
  count++;
} while (count < 5)Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

Output:

0
1
2
3
4

In this example:

• First, declare and initialize the count variable to zero.
• Second, show the count and increase its value by one in each iteration until its value is greater or equal to 5.

Using the do while statement to make a number-guessing game

The following example uses the do...while statement to create a number guessing game.

The script generates a random integer between 1 and 10. You have to make a number of guesses until your number matches the random number.

// generate a secret number between 1 and 10
const MIN = 1;
const MAX = 10;

let secretNumber = Math.floor(Math.random() * (MAX - MIN + 1)) + MIN;

let guesses = 0; // for storing the number of guesses
let hint = ''; // for storing hint
let number = 0;
do {
  // get input from user
  let input = prompt(`Please enter a number between ${MIN} and ${MAX}` + hint);

  // get the integer
  number = parseInt(input);

  // increase the number of guesses
  guesses++;

  // check input number with the secret number provide hint if needed
  if (number > secretNumber) {
    hint = ', and less than ' + number;
  } else if (number < secretNumber) {
    hint = ', and greater than ' + number;
  } else if (number == secretNumber) {
    alert(`Bravo! you're correct after ${guesses} guess(es).`);
  }
} while (number != secretNumber);
Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

How it works.

First, declare the MIN and MAX constants and initialize their values to 1 and 10:

const MIN = 1;
const MAX = 10;Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

Second, use Math.random() function to generate a random floating-point number with the value in the range of 0 and 1 (inclusive of zero but not one).

To generate a random number between MIN and MAX (exclusive), you use the following expression:

Math.random() * (MAX - MIN + 1)Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

However, the result is a floating-point number. Therefore, you need to use the Math.floor() function to convert it to an integer:

Math.floor(Math.random() * (MAX - MIN + 1))Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

To generate a random number between min and max, you use the following expression:

let secretNumber = Math.floor(Math.random() * (MAX - MIN + 1)) + MIN;Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

Third, define three variables for storing the number of guesses, hints, and user’s input number:

let guesses = 0; // for storing the number of guesses
let hint = ''; // for storing hint
let number = 0;Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

Fourth, use the prompt() function to get the input from the user:

let input = prompt(`Please enter a number between ${MIN} and ${MAX}` + hint);Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

Note that the prompt() function only works on web browsers. If you run the code in another environment such as Node.js, please check the corresponding function.

The prompt() function returns a string, therefore, you need to use the parseInt() function to convert it to an integer:

number = parseInt(input);Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

Fifth, increment the number of guesses in each iteration:

guesses++;

Sixth, check the input number with the secret number (random) number and give a hint. If the numbers are matched, show the message using the alert() function:

if (number > secretNumber) {
  hint = ', and less than ' + number;
} else if (number < secretNumber) {
  hint = ', and greater than ' + number;
} else if (number == secretNumber) {
  alert(`Bravo! you're correct after ${guesses} guess(es).`);
}Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

Seventh, perform the next iteration until the number matches the secret number.

while (number != secretNumber);Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

Summary

• Use the do while statement to create a loop that executes a code block until a condition is false.

Quiz