The for Loop

Learning Goals 5 min

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

1. Read a for loop and identify its three parts: the start, the condition and the update.
2. Use the loop counter i as a pin number to drive a row of LEDs on contiguous pins, removing repetitive digitalWrite calls.
3. Rewrite the 3-LED chase from L01-10 in roughly half the lines of code — and explain why the new version scales to 4, 5 or 10 LEDs without growing.

Warm-Up 10 min

Last lesson the loop body started to feel like typing the same thing over and over: digitalWrite(RED_PIN, HIGH), digitalWrite(YELLOW_PIN, HIGH), digitalWrite(GREEN_PIN, HIGH). Three lines that all say the same thing with one detail changed. Today we replace them with one line that says "do this for each pin from 9 to 11".

Quick-fire puzzle

Wei Jie wants to wire ten LEDs in a single long row — pins 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 — and chase a dot from one end to the other. Without writing any code yet, predict:

1. If he uses the hand-coded style from L01-10, roughly how many digitalWrite calls would the chase need in loop()?
2. And how many pinMode calls in setup()?
3. If he later wants to add an 11th LED on pin 3, how many places in the sketch does he need to edit?

New Concept 20 min

The big idea — "do this for each pin in the range"

A for loop is a piece of code that runs its body multiple times, with a counter variable taking a different value each time. You write the loop once; the Arduino does the repeating.

The shape of a for loop

for (int i = 9; i <= 11; i++) {
  // body — runs once for each value of i (9, then 10, then 11)
}

Three parts live inside the parentheses, separated by semicolons:

So for (int i = 9; i <= 11; i++) reads as: "start i at 9; while i is at most 11; after each pass add one to i." That makes the body run three times — once with i = 9, once with i = 10, once with i = 11. Exactly the three pins we have wired.

The new comparison operators

The condition uses comparison symbols you may not have seen yet:

• i <= 11 — "i is less than or equal to 11". True when i is 9, 10 or 11. False at 12.
• i < 12 — "i is less than 12". Same effect as i <= 11 for whole numbers. Style choice.
• i >= 9 — "i is greater than or equal to 9". Useful for counting down.

Using the counter as a pin number

This is the trick that makes a chase one line shorter for every LED:

for (int i = 9; i <= 11; i++) {
  digitalWrite(i, HIGH);
}

On pass 1: i = 9, so the body becomes digitalWrite(9, HIGH) — red on. On pass 2: i = 10, yellow on. On pass 3: i = 11, green on. The loop walked through pins 9, 10, 11 — one line of code did the job of three.

Two new naming constants

From today we name the range of pins, not each individual one:

const int FIRST_PIN = 9;
const int LAST_PIN = 11;

Combined with the loop:

for (int i = FIRST_PIN; i <= LAST_PIN; i++) {
  digitalWrite(i, HIGH);
}

Now to add a 4th LED on pin 12, you change one line: LAST_PIN = 12. The loop body never moves.

One important rule — contiguous pins

This trick only works because our LEDs are on contiguous pin numbers: 9, 10, 11. If they were scattered — say, red on pin 2, yellow on pin 5, green on pin 8 — the counter i would not give us the right pins as it counts up. For scattered pins you need an array of pin numbers, which we'll meet in L01-32. Today, keep your three LEDs on cosy neighbouring pins.

Reuse the L01-10 wiring

Today's circuit is the same three-LED breadboard from L01-10: red on D9, yellow on D10, green on D11, each with its 220 Ω resistor, all three sharing GND through the breadboard's − rail. Keep it wired up exactly as you built it last lesson.

Why it matters

Every meaningful Arduino project uses for loops — to scan sensors, drive arrays of LEDs, build menus, send characters over Serial, read keypresses, talk to displays. Today is the smallest possible introduction to the most-used control structure in C++.

Worked Example 20 min

Goal: rewrite the L01-10 chase using a for loop, then count how many lines we saved.

Step 1 — the L01-10 chase, for comparison

This is the chase you wrote last lesson, with every digitalWrite hand-coded:

const int RED_PIN = 9;
const int YELLOW_PIN = 10;
const int GREEN_PIN = 11;

void setup() {
  pinMode(RED_PIN, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(YELLOW_PIN, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(GREEN_PIN, OUTPUT);
}

void loop() {
  digitalWrite(RED_PIN, HIGH);
  delay(200);
  digitalWrite(RED_PIN, LOW);
  digitalWrite(YELLOW_PIN, HIGH);
  delay(200);
  digitalWrite(YELLOW_PIN, LOW);
  digitalWrite(GREEN_PIN, HIGH);
  delay(200);
  digitalWrite(GREEN_PIN, LOW);
}

Notice every three lines of loop() are the same shape — only the pin constant changes. That's the pattern a for loop will eat.

Step 2 — type the for-loop version

In the IDE, go to File → New and save the sketch as chase-for-loop. Type this from scratch:

const int FIRST_PIN = 9;
const int LAST_PIN = 11;

void setup() {
  for (int i = FIRST_PIN; i <= LAST_PIN; i++) {
    pinMode(i, OUTPUT);
  }
}

void loop() {
  for (int i = FIRST_PIN; i <= LAST_PIN; i++) {
    digitalWrite(i, HIGH);
    delay(200);
    digitalWrite(i, LOW);
  }
}

Step 3 — upload and watch

The LEDs chase across the breadboard — red, then yellow, then green — exactly the same behaviour as last lesson's hand-coded chase. The Arduino can't tell the difference. The for-loop version is just easier on your fingers.

Step 4 — count the savings

That last row is the real point. The for-loop version doesn't grow when you add LEDs — only the LAST_PIN constant changes. The hand-coded version triples in size.

Step 5 — trace the loop variable on paper

Before moving on, draw a small table in your notebook to confirm you can read the loop:

Try It Yourself 20 min

Three small mutations of the for-loop chase. Predict before you upload.

const int FIRST_PIN = 9;
const int LAST_PIN = 10;  // was 11

const int FIRST_PIN = 9;
const int LAST_PIN = 11;

void setup() {
  for (int i = FIRST_PIN; i <= LAST_PIN; i++) {
    pinMode(i, OUTPUT);
  }
}

void loop() {
  for (int i = LAST_PIN; i >= FIRST_PIN; i--) {
    digitalWrite(i, HIGH);
    delay(200);
    digitalWrite(i, LOW);
  }
}

// Forward then backward, repeating. Endpoints visited once per cycle,
// middle LED visited twice — exactly the Knight Rider rhythm.
const int FIRST_PIN = 9;
const int LAST_PIN = 11;

void setup() {
  for (int i = FIRST_PIN; i <= LAST_PIN; i++) {
    pinMode(i, OUTPUT);
  }
}

void loop() {
  for (int i = FIRST_PIN; i <= LAST_PIN; i++) {
    digitalWrite(i, HIGH);
    delay(150);
    digitalWrite(i, LOW);
  }
  for (int i = LAST_PIN - 1; i > FIRST_PIN; i--) {
    digitalWrite(i, HIGH);
    delay(150);
    digitalWrite(i, LOW);
  }
}

Mini-Challenge 15 min

The wave

Different from a chase: in a wave, the LEDs come on one by one and stay on, building up until all three are lit. Then they go off one by one in the opposite order. Like a wave rolling in and ebbing out. Two for loops, one going up, one going down.

Your task:

1. Use the same FIRST_PIN / LAST_PIN constants and the same wiring as L01-10.
2. In loop(), write a forward for loop that turns each LED HIGH with a 200 ms delay between each. After this loop, all three LEDs should be on.
3. Write a backward for loop (using i-- and i >= FIRST_PIN) that turns each LED LOW with a 200 ms delay between each. After this loop, all three are off.
4. Add a 500 ms pause between the two loops so the "all on" moment is visible.

It works if:

• Red comes on, then yellow, then green — and all three are lit together for half a second.
• Then green goes off first, then yellow, then red — back to darkness.
• The whole effect feels like a wave passing left to right.
• Your loop() body has at most one digitalWrite(_, HIGH) and one digitalWrite(_, LOW) — no per-pin lines.

// Wave: forward filling all 3, hold, backward emptying all 3.
const int FIRST_PIN = 9;
const int LAST_PIN = 11;

void setup() {
  for (int i = FIRST_PIN; i <= LAST_PIN; i++) {
    pinMode(i, OUTPUT);
  }
}

void loop() {
  for (int i = FIRST_PIN; i <= LAST_PIN; i++) {
    digitalWrite(i, HIGH);
    delay(200);
  }
  delay(500);
  for (int i = LAST_PIN; i >= FIRST_PIN; i--) {
    digitalWrite(i, LOW);
    delay(200);
  }
}

Recap 5 min

A for loop says "do this body of code multiple times, with a counter going through a range of values." Inside setup() it spares you repeated pinMode calls; inside loop() it spares you repeated digitalWrite calls. Using the counter as a pin number works only when your pins are on contiguous numbers — but that single trick is what makes chases, waves and bouncing patterns easy to write.

for loop

A C++ control structure that runs a block of code repeatedly, with a counter variable taking a sequence of values. Three parts: start, condition, update.

Counter variable

The variable that changes on each pass of the loop. Conventionally called i (short for "index" or "iterator"). Only visible inside the loop body.

i++ / i--

Shorthand for "add 1 to i" and "subtract 1 from i". The same as writing i = i + 1 and i = i - 1, but tidier.

Contiguous pins

Pin numbers that are consecutive — 9, 10, 11. Required for using the loop counter directly as a pin number. Non-contiguous pins (2, 5, 8) need an array (L01-32).

Off-by-one

The classic loop bug: i < 11 stops at 10, i <= 11 stops at 11. One step's difference, one wrong-coloured LED. Always count the passes carefully.

Homework 5 min

Make it scale. Pretend you've added a 4th LED on pin 12 (you don't need to actually wire one — just write the code). Update only the top of your chase sketch and confirm the loop body never needs to change.

1. Open your chase-for-loop sketch from class.
2. Change one line: const int LAST_PIN = 12;.
3. Verify in the IDE that the sketch still compiles. (It will — the loop logic is untouched.)
4. If you have a 4th LED and a 4th resistor in your kit, wire it up on pin 12 using the same module pattern as L01-10 (columns 31–36, anode at B35, cathode at B34, GND drop on the − rail).
5. Upload and watch the 4-LED chase — the body of loop() didn't change at all.

Also: a small tracing exercise on paper. Given this loop:

for (int i = 4; i <= 8; i++) {
  // body runs
}

• How many times does the body run? ____
• What is the final value of i during the last pass? ____
• What is i's value after the loop ends? (Trick question — re-read the "i is local" callout.) ____

Bring back next class:

• The updated .ino file showing LAST_PIN = 12.
• A short phone video of the chase running with however many LEDs you wired (3 or 4).
• Your tracing exercise answers on a notebook page.