How do loops differ from conditionals?

Loops and conditionals are both control structures in programming, but they serve different purposes:

Conditionals:

Purpose: Used to make decisions based on whether a condition is true or false.
Execution: Executes a block of code only once when the condition is evaluated.

Example:

if age >= 18:
    print("You are an adult.")

Loops:

Purpose: Used to repeat a block of code multiple times until a specified condition is met.
Execution: Executes the block of code repeatedly, which can be based on a counter, a condition, or iterating over a collection.

Types:

For Loop: Iterates over a sequence (like a list or range).
```
for i in range(5):
    print(i)  # Prints numbers 0 to 4
```

While Loop: Continues executing as long as a condition is true.

count = 0
while count < 5:
    print(count)
    count += 1  # Prints numbers 0 to 4

Key Differences:

Execution Count: Conditionals execute once based on a condition, while loops can execute multiple times.
Use Cases: Conditionals are for decision-making, while loops are for repetition.

Understanding these differences helps in structuring your code effectively. If you want to practice using loops, consider exploring related labs on LabEx!