Test Basic Python Loops — Study Path Agent

Chapter 1

Loop Fundamentals (what, when, and common patterns)

1

Repetition vs. iteration: when a loop is the right tool

2

Loop variables and state: counters, accumulators, flags

3

Common loop patterns: sum, count, search, min/max

4

Index-based vs. element-based looping (and why element-based is safer)

Chapter 2

for Loops (iteration over sequences and ranges)

5

Iterating over lists/tuples/strings (elements)

6

range(): start/stop/step and off-by-one rules

7

enumerate(): getting index + value cleanly

8

zip(): iterating over multiple sequences in parallel

9

Iterating over dicts: keys(), values(), items()

10

Nested for loops: grids, pairs, and time complexity intuition

Chapter 3

while Loops (condition-driven repetition)

11

Counters and sentinels (e.g., loop until input is 'q')

12

Input-validation loops (keep asking until valid)

13

Detecting and fixing infinite loops (instrumentation and sanity checks)

Chapter 4

Loop Control Flow (break, continue, else)

14

break: exiting early (search loops, stopping criteria)

15

continue: skipping to next iteration safely

16

Loop else clause: when it runs and why it’s useful

17

Control-flow pitfalls: modifying lists while iterating, shadowing variables

Chapter 5

Testing Loops (assertions, edge cases, and debugging)

18

Write testable loop functions: pure inputs/outputs (no prints)

19

Use assertions to test loop results (happy path + edge cases)

20

Edge cases checklist: empty sequences, single item, negatives, zero step

21

Debugging loops with prints/logging (show iteration number + key variables)

22

Tracing by hand: build a table of variable values per iteration

23

Refactoring loops: extract helper functions, reduce nesting

Chapter 6

Practice Tasks (mini-exercises to validate mastery)