For loop (rarely used in Ruby)

Introduction

A for loop repeats a set of actions for each item in a list. In Ruby, it's not used often because other ways are simpler.

When you want to do something with every item in a list, like printing each name.

When you have a fixed range of numbers and want to repeat actions for each number.

When you prefer a clear, simple loop structure instead of more Ruby-specific methods.

When learning basic programming loops before moving to Ruby's more common methods.

Syntax

Ruby

for variable in collection
  # code to run
end

The variable takes each item from the collection one by one.

The loop runs the code inside for ... end for every item.

Examples

This prints numbers 1 to 3, one per line.

Ruby

for i in 1..3
  puts i
end

This prints each fruit name from the list.

Ruby

fruits = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry']
for fruit in fruits
  puts fruit
end

Sample Program

This program prints a message for numbers 1 through 5 using a for loop.

Ruby

for number in 1..5
  puts "Number is #{number}"
end

Important Notes

Ruby developers usually prefer .each loops because they are more flexible and readable.

For loops work fine but are less common in Ruby code you see in real projects.

Summary

For loops repeat actions for each item in a list or range.

They are simple but not the usual way to loop in Ruby.

Use them when you want clear, straightforward looping syntax.