Scala Tutorial

Scala References

Scala - Math Methods

Scala - For Loop

Scala for Loop

The for loop in Scala is used to iterate over a given sequence and executes a set of statements for each element in the sequence. A sequence can be any structure like ranges, strings, and collections like arrays and lists.

Syntax

for(variable <- sequence){
  statements
}

Flow Diagram:

for loop over a range

In the example below, for loop is used over a given range to print all elements in it.

object MainObject {
  def main(args: Array[String]) {
    var i = 0
    
    //for loop over a range
    for(i <- 1 to 5){
      println("i = " + i) 
    }
  }
}

The output of the above code will be:

i = 1
i = 2
i = 3
i = 4
i = 5

In a for loop, multiple range can be separated using semicolon ;. When multiple ranges are used in a for loop, it will iterate through all the possible computations of the given ranges. Consider the example below:

object MainObject {
  def main(args: Array[String]) {
    var i = 0
    var j = 0
    
    //for loop over two ranges
    for(i <- 1 to 3; j <- 11 to 13){
      println("i = " + i + ", j = " + j) 
    }
  }
}

The output of the above code will be:

i = 1, j = 11
i = 1, j = 12
i = 1, j = 13
i = 2, j = 11
i = 2, j = 12
i = 2, j = 13
i = 3, j = 11
i = 3, j = 12
i = 3, j = 13

for loop over a String

In the example below, for loop is used over a given string to print all characters of it, taking one character at a time in each iteration.

object MainObject {
  def main(args: Array[String]) {
    var c = ""
    
    //for loop over a string
    for(c <- "HELLO"){
      println(c) 
    }
  }
}

The output of the above code will be:

H
E
L
L
O

for loop over an Array

In the example below, for loop is used over a given array to print all elements of it.

object MainObject {
  def main(args: Array[String]) {
    var i = 0
    val MyArray = Array(10, 20, 30, 40, 50)
    
    //for loop over an array
    for(i <- MyArray){
      println("i = " + i) 
    }
  }
}

The output of the above code will be:

i = 10
i = 20
i = 30
i = 40
i = 50

for loop over a List

Similarly, the for loop can be used over a list to print all elements of it. Consider the example below:

object MainObject {
  def main(args: Array[String]) {
    var i = 0
    val MyList = List(100, 200, 300, 400, 500)
    
    //for loop over a list
    for(i <- MyList){
      println("i = " + i) 
    }
  }
}

The output of the above code will be:

i = 100
i = 200
i = 300
i = 400
i = 500

for loop with Filters

Scala's for loop allows to filter out some elements by using if condition(s) with it. The syntax for using if condition(s) with a for loop is given below.

Syntax

for(variable <- sequence
    if condition 1
    if condition 2
    ...){
  statements
}

In the example below, a for loop is used over an array to print all its elements in the range [25, 50] and not a multiple of 10.

object MainObject {
  def main(args: Array[String]) {
    var i = 0
    val MyArray = Array(15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 
                        40, 45, 50, 55, 60)
    
    //for loop over an array with filters
    for(i <- MyArray
        if 25 to 50 contains i
        if i%10 != 0){
      println("i = " + i) 
    }
  }
}

The output of the above code will be:

i = 25
i = 35
i = 45

for loop with yield

Scala allows to store the return values from a for loop. It can be achieved by using yield keyword. The following is the syntax:

Syntax

retval = for(variable <- sequence
             if condition 1
             if condition 2
             ...) yield variable
//Note: {} can also be used instead of ()

In the example below, yield keyword is used to store result in a variable called retval.

object MainObject {
  def main(args: Array[String]) {
    var i = 0
    val MyArray = Array(15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 
                        40, 45, 50, 55, 60)
    
    //for loop over an array, yield keyword 
    //is used to store i in retval
    var retval = for(i <- MyArray
                     if 25 to 50 contains i
                     if i%10 != 0) yield i
    
    //displaying the content of retval
    for(j <- retval) {
      println("j = " + j)
    }
  }
}

The output of the above code will be:

j = 25
j = 35
j = 45

Consider one more example to learn more about using yield keyword with a for loop.

object MainObject {
  def main(args: Array[String]) {
    var i = 0
    val MyArray = Array(15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 
                        40, 45, 50, 55, 60)
    
    //for loop over an array, yield keyword 
    //is used to store (i+ 100) in retval
    var retval = for(i <- MyArray
                     if 25 to 50 contains i
                     if i%10 != 0) yield (i + 100)
    
    //displaying the content of retval
    for(j <- retval) {
      println("j = " + j)
    }
  }
}

The output of the above code will be:

j = 125
j = 135
j = 145