While and Do-While loops in PowerShell - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

💻 Command Output

intermediate

Output of a While loop counting down

What is the output of this PowerShell script?

PowerShell

i=3
while ($i -gt 0) {
  Write-Output $i
  $i--
}

A

3
2
1
0

B

1
2
3

C

3
2
1

D

0
1
2
3

💡 Hint

Remember the loop runs while $i is greater than zero and decreases $i each time.

The loop starts at 3 and prints the value before decreasing it. It stops when $i is no longer greater than 0, so it prints 3, 2, and 1.

💻 Command Output

intermediate

Output of a Do-While loop with a condition

What will this PowerShell script output?

PowerShell

i=1
do {
  Write-Output $i
  $i += 2
} while ($i -lt 6)

A

1
2
3
4
5

B

1
3
5
7

C

2
4
6

D

1
3
5

💡 Hint

The loop adds 2 to $i each time and continues while $i is less than 6.

The loop starts at 1, prints it, then adds 2. It prints 1, 3, and 5. When $i becomes 7, the condition fails and the loop stops.

🔧 Debug

advanced

Identify the error in this While loop

What error will this PowerShell script produce?

PowerShell

i=0
while ($i < 3) {
  Write-Output $i
  i++
}

A Syntax error: Missing '$' before variable 'i' in increment

B Runtime error: Variable 'i' is not recognized

C Infinite loop printing 0 forever

D Outputs 0, 1, 2 correctly

💡 Hint

Check how variables are referenced and incremented in PowerShell.

In PowerShell, variables must have a '$' prefix. The increment 'i++' misses the '$', causing a syntax error.

🚀 Application

advanced

Count how many times a Do-While loop runs

How many times will this PowerShell Do-While loop execute?

PowerShell

$count = 0
do {
  $count++
} while ($count -lt 5)

A 5

B 4

C 6

D Infinite loop

💡 Hint

The loop runs while $count is less than 5 and increments $count each time.

The loop starts at 0, increments $count each time, and stops after $count reaches 5, so it runs 5 times.

🧠 Conceptual

expert

Difference between While and Do-While loops in PowerShell

Which statement correctly describes the difference between While and Do-While loops in PowerShell?

A While loops run the body once before checking the condition; Do-While loops check the condition before running the body.

B While loops check the condition before running the loop body; Do-While loops run the body once before checking the condition.

C Both loops check the condition after running the loop body.

D Both loops check the condition before running the loop body.

💡 Hint

Think about when the condition is evaluated in each loop type.

While loops test the condition first and may not run if false initially. Do-While loops always run the body once before testing the condition.