Control flow

Mojo includes several traditional control flow structures for conditional and repeated execution of code blocks.

The `if` statement

Mojo supports the if statement for conditional code execution. With it you can conditionally execute an indented code block if a given boolean expression evaluates to True.

temp_celsius = 25
if temp_celsius > 20:
    print("It is warm.")
    print("The temperature is", temp_celsius * 9 / 5 + 32, "Fahrenheit." )

It is warm. The temperature is 77.0 Fahrenheit.

You can write the entire if statement as a single line if all you need to execute conditionally is a single, short statement.

temp_celsius = 22
if temp_celsius < 15: print("It is cool.") # Skipped because condition is False
if temp_celsius > 20: print("It is warm.")

It is warm.

Optionally, an if statement can include any number of additional elif clauses, each specifying a boolean condition and associated code block to execute if True. The conditions are tested in the order given. When a condition evaluates to True, the associated code block is executed and no further conditions are tested.

Additionally, an if statement can include an optional else clause providing a code block to execute if all conditions evaluate to False.

temp_celsius = 25
if temp_celsius <= 0:
    print("It is freezing.")
elif temp_celsius < 20:
    print("It is cool.")
elif temp_celsius < 30:
    print("It is warm.")
else:
    print("It is hot.")

It is warm.

TODO

Mojo currently does not support the equivalent of a Python match or C switch statement for pattern matching and conditional execution.

Short-circuit evaluation

Mojo follows short-circuit evaluation semantics for boolean operators. If the first argument to an or operator evaluates to True, the second argument is not evaluated.

def true_func() -> Bool:
    print("Executing true_func")
    return True

def false_func() -> Bool:
    print("Executing false_func")
    return False

print('Short-circuit "or" evaluation')
if true_func() or false_func():
    print("True result")

Short-circuit "or" evaluation Executing true_func True result

If the first argument to an and operator evaluates to False, the second argument is not evaluated.

print('Short-circuit "and" evaluation')
if false_func() and true_func():
    print("True result")

Short-circuit "and" evaluation Executing false_func

Conditional expressions

Mojo also supports conditional expressions (or what is sometimes called a ternary conditional operator) using the syntax

true_result if boolean_expression else false_result

, just as in Python. This is most often used as a concise way to assign one of two different values to a variable, based on a boolean condition.

temp_celsius = 15
forecast = "warm" if temp_celsius > 20 else "cool"
print("The forecast for today is", forecast)

The forecast for today is cool

The alternative, written as a multi-line if statement, is more verbose.

if temp_celsius > 20:
    forecast = "warm"
else:
    forecast = "cool"
print("The forecast for today is", forecast)

The forecast for today is cool

The `while` statement

The while loop repeatedly executes a code block while a given boolean expression evaluates to True. For example, the following loop prints values from the Fibonacci series that are less than 50.

fib_prev = 0
fib_curr = 1

print(fib_prev, end="")
while fib_curr < 50:
    print(",", fib_curr, end="")
    fib_prev, fib_curr = fib_curr, fib_prev + fib_curr

0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34

A continue statement skips execution of the rest of the code block and resumes with the loop test expression.

n = 0
while n < 5:
    n += 1
    if n == 3:
        continue
    print(n, end=", ")

1, 2, 4, 5,

A break statement terminates execution of the loop.

n = 0
while n < 5:
    n += 1
    if n == 3:
        break
    print(n, end=", ")

1, 2,

Optionally, a while loop can include an else clause. The body of the else clause executes when the loop's boolean condition evaluates to False, even if it occurs the first time tested.

n = 5

while n < 4:
    print(n)
    n += 1
else:
    print("Loop completed")

Loop completed

note

The else clause does not execute if a break or return statement exits the while loop.

n = 0
while n < 5:
    n += 1
    if n == 3:
        break
    print(n)
else:
    print("Executing else clause")

1 2

The `for` statement

The for loop iterates over a sequence, executing a code block for each element in the sequence. The Mojo for loop can iterate over any type that implements an __iter__() method that returns a type that defines __next__() and __len__() methods.

Iterating over Mojo collections

All of the collection types in the collections module support for loop iteration. See the Collection types documentation for more information on Mojo collection types.

TODO

Iterating over Mojo native collections currently assigns the loop index variable a Reference to each item, not the item itself. You can access the item using the dereference operator, [], as shown in the examples below. This may change in a future version of Mojo.

The following shows an example of iterating over a Mojo List.

from collections import List

states = List[String]("California", "Hawaii", "Oregon")
for state in states:
    print(state[])

California Hawaii Oregon

The same technique works for iterating over a Mojo Set.

from collections import Set

values = Set[Int](42, 0)
for item in values:
    print(item[])

42 0

There are two techniques for iterating over a Mojo Dict. The first is to iterate directly using the Dict, which produces a sequence of the dictionary's keys.

from collections import Dict

capitals = Dict[String, String]()
capitals["California"] = "Sacramento"
capitals["Hawaii"] = "Honolulu"
capitals["Oregon"] = "Salem"

for state in capitals:
    print(capitals[state[]] + ", " + state[])

Sacramento, California Honolulu, Hawaii Salem, Oregon

The second approach to iterating over a Mojo Dict is to invoke its items() method, which produces a sequence of DictEntry objects. Within the loop body, you can then access the key and value fields of the entry.

for item in capitals.items():
    print(item[].value + ", " + item[].key)

Sacramento, California Honolulu, Hawaii Salem, Oregon

Another type of iterable provided by the Mojo standard library is a range, which is a sequence of integers generated by the range() function. It differs from the collection types shown above in that it's implemented as a generator, producing each value as needed rather than materializing the entire sequence in memory. Additionally, each value assigned to the loop index variable is simply the Int value rather than a Reference to the value, so you should not use the dereference operator on it within the loop. For example:

for i in range(5):
    print(i, end=", ")

0, 1, 2, 3, 4,

`for` loop control statements

A continue statement skips execution of the rest of the code block and resumes the loop with the next element of the collection.

for i in range(5):
    if i == 3:
        continue
    print(i, end=", ")

0, 1, 2, 4,

A break statement terminates execution of the loop.

for i in range(5):
    if i == 3:
        break
    print(i, end=", ")

0, 1, 2,

Optionally, a for loop can include an else clause. The body of the else clause executes after iterating over all of the elements in a collection.

for i in range(5):
    print(i, end=", ")
else:
    print("\nFinished executing 'for' loop")

0, 1, 2, 3, 4, Finished executing 'for' loop

The else clause executes even if the collection is empty.

from collections import List

empty = List[Int]()
for i in empty:
    print(i[])
else:
    print("Finished executing 'for' loop")

Finished executing 'for' loop

note

The else clause does not execute if a break or return statement terminates the for loop.

from collections import List

animals = List[String]("cat", "aardvark", "hippopotamus", "dog")
for animal in animals:
    if animal[] == "dog":
        print("Found a dog")
        break
else:
    print("No dog found")

Found a dog

Iterating over Python collections

The Mojo for loop supports iterating over Python collection types. Each item retrieved by the loop is a PythonObject wrapper around the Python object. Refer to the Python types documentation for more information on manipulating Python objects from Mojo.

The following is a simple example of iterating over a mixed-type Python list.

from python import Python

# Create a mixed-type Python list
py_list = Python.evaluate("[42, 'cat', 3.14159]")
for py_obj in py_list:  # Each element is of type "PythonObject"
    print(py_obj)

42 cat 3.14159

TODO

Iterating over a Mojo collection currently assigns the loop index variable a Reference to each element, which then requires you to use the dereference operator within the loop body. In contrast, iterating over a Python collection assigns a PythonObject wrapper for the element, which does not require you to use the dereference operator.

There are two techniques for iterating over a Python dictionary. The first is to iterate directly using the dictionary, which produces a sequence of its keys.

from python import Python

# Create a mixed-type Python dictionary
py_dict = Python.evaluate("{'a': 1, 'b': 2.71828, 'c': 'sushi'}")
for py_key in py_dict:  # Each element is of type "PythonObject"
    print(py_key, py_dict[py_key])

a 1 b 2.71828 c sushi

The second approach to iterating over a Python dictionary is to invoke its items() method, which produces a sequence of 2-tuple objects. Within the loop body, you can then access the key and value by index.

for py_tuple in py_dict.items():  # Each element is of type "PythonObject"
    print(py_tuple[0], py_tuple[1])

a 1 b 2.71828 c sushi

The if statement​

Short-circuit evaluation​

Conditional expressions​

The while statement​

The for statement​

Iterating over Mojo collections​

for loop control statements​

Iterating over Python collections​

The `if` statement

Short-circuit evaluation

Conditional expressions

The `while` statement

The `for` statement

Iterating over Mojo collections

`for` loop control statements

Iterating over Python collections