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The for statement creates a loop that consists of three optional expressions, enclosed in parentheses and separated by semicolons, followed by a statement (usually a block statement) to be executed in the loop.
Syntax
for ([initialization]; [condition]; [final-expression]) statement
initialization
- An expression (including assignment expressions) or variable declaration. Typically used to initialize a counter variable. This expression may optionally declare new variables with the
var
keyword. These variables are not local to the loop, i.e. they are in the same scope thefor
loop is in. The result of this expression is discarded. condition
- An expression to be evaluated before each loop iteration. If this expression evaluates to true,
statement
is executed. This conditional test is optional. If omitted, the condition always evaluates to true. If the expression evaluates to false, execution skips to the first expression following thefor
construct. final-expression
- An expression to be evaluated at the end of each loop iteration. This occurs before the next evaluation of
condition
. Generally used to update or increment the counter variable. statement
- A statement that is executed as long as the condition evaluates to true. To execute multiple statements within the loop, use a block statement (
{ ... }
) to group those statements. To execute no statement within the loop, use an empty statement (;
).
Examples
Using for
The following for
statement starts by declaring the variable i
and initializing it to 0
. It checks that i
is less than nine, performs the two succeeding statements, and increments i
by 1 after each pass through the loop.
for (var i = 0; i < 9; i++) { console.log(i); // more statements }
Optional for
expressions
All three expressions in the head of the for
loop are optional.
For example, in the initialization block it is not required to initialize variables:
var i = 0; for (; i < 9; i++) { console.log(i); // more statements }
Like the initialization block, the condition block is also optional. If you are omitting this expression, you must make sure to break the loop in the body in order to not create an infinite loop.
for (var i = 0;; i++) { console.log(i); if (i > 3) break; // more statements }
You can also omit all three blocks. Again, make sure to use a break
statement to end the loop and also modify (increase) a variable, so that the condition for the break statement is true at some point.
var i = 0; for (;;) { if (i > 3) break; console.log(i); i++; }
Using for
with an empty statement
The following for
cycle calculates the offset position of a node in the [final-expression] section, and therefore it does not require the use of a statement
or block statement
section, an empty statement is used instead.
function showOffsetPos (sId) { var nLeft = 0, nTop = 0; for (var oItNode = document.getElementById(sId); // initialization oItNode; // condition nLeft += oItNode.offsetLeft, nTop += oItNode.offsetTop, oItNode = oItNode.offsetParent) // final-expression /* empty statement */ ; console.log("Offset position of \"" + sId + "\" element:\n left: " + nLeft + "px;\n top: " + nTop + "px;"); } // Example call: showOffsetPos("content"); // Output: // "Offset position of "content" element: // left: 0px; // top: 153px;"
statement
section, a semicolon is put immediately after the declaration of the cycle.Specifications
Browser compatibility
Feature | Chrome | Firefox (Gecko) | Internet Explorer | Opera | Safari |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Basic support | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) |
Feature | Android | Chrome for Android | Firefox Mobile (Gecko) | IE Mobile | Opera Mobile | Safari Mobile |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Basic support | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) |