Julia Language while Loops Collatz sequence
Example
The while loop runs its body as long as the condition holds. For instance, the following code computes and prints the Collatz sequence from a given number:
function collatz(n)
while n ≠ 1
println(n)
n = iseven(n) ? n ÷ 2 : 3n + 1
end
println("1... and 4, 2, 1, 4, 2, 1 and so on")
end
Usage:
julia> collatz(10)
10
5
16
8
4
2
1... and 4, 2, 1, 4, 2, 1 and so on
It is possible to write any loop recursively, and for complex while loops, sometimes the recursive variant is more clear. However, in Julia, loops have some distinct advantages over recursion:
- Julia does not guarantee tail call elimination, so recursion uses additional memory and may cause stack overflow errors.
- And further, for the same reason, a loop can have decreased overhead and run faster.
