Looping in the Coding Environment

Summary:

As a learner, I would like to create programs in the Inclusive Coding Environment that allow me to repeat sequences.

Details:

'Loop' is available in the Actions Panel
Add a Loop feature
- Inserts start loop, end loop, loop counter and the ability to add contents to the loop
- The loop may specify a fixed count of iterations, or "forever"
- The loop is executed the number of time specified in the loop counter
- The loop is highlighted and counts down to 0 during execution
The control panel for the 'Start Loop' and 'End Loop' tiles have the following operations:
- Move Loop
  - Contents of the loop move with it (see below for an example)
- Delete Loop
  - Dialog to determine whether the contents of the loop are also deleted
Loops may be nested

Notes and Examples:

Movement of Loops

When a loop is selected to be moved, the entire loop moves as if it is a single tile. It will move in or out of an enclosing loop when directed to.

start-loop-a, forward, end-loop-a, start-loop-b, end-loop-b
Move start-loop-a next
start-loop-b, start-loop-a, forward, end-loop-a, end-loop-b
Move start-loop-a next
start-loop-b, end-loop-b, start-loop-a, forward, end-loop-a

Movement of tiles in relation to loops

start-loop-a, forward, end-loop-a, start-loop-b, end-loop-b
Move forward next
start-loop-a, end-loop-a, forward, start-loop-b, end-loop-b
Move forward next
start-loop-a, end-loop-a, start-loop-b, forward, end-loop-b

Loop Counter

Maximum number of loop iterations is 3 digits: 0 - 999
Default is 1
If the counter is empty, treat it as 0
Counter only allows digits to be entered
Loop counts cannot be changed while a program is running
During execution, counter remains at 0 after the loop has completed and resets to the original value when the program stops
The loop counter ‘Stop’ button breaks out of the loop and continues after the loop (maybe it should be “escape”?)