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Loops

A loop repeats a series of actions as long as a specified condition exists. It consists of three elements: the condition, the actions to be repeated, and a counter that increments (or decrements) each time the actions are repeated. In ActionScript, there are four types of loops:

• while
• do…while
• for
• for…in

It’s important to be aware that the stage isn’t updated each time a loop is executed, so these kinds of loops aren’t practical for displaying the repeating actions on the stage. To display repetitive actions on the stage, use the onEnterFrame() event handler or the setInterval() function. The onEnterFrame() event handler is described under Automating Processes with Keyframe Loops and the setInterval() function is described later in the tutorial, when you use it to call a function that updates the contents of the stage at 1-second intervals.

As with if statements, you can find loop statements in the Actions toolbox, in the Conditions/Loops subfolder of the Statements folder: