Java

Loops

Java's for loop has three parts: a starting statement, a continue condition, and an update step, all separated by semicolons.

Example: summing with a for loop

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int total = 0;
        for (int i = 1; i <= 5; i++) {
            total += i;
        }
        System.out.println("Total: " + total);
    }
}

Total: 15

This exact three-part for (start; condition; update) shape appears, essentially unchanged, in JavaScript, C, C++, and C#, learning it once here transfers almost directly to every other C-family language you might pick up later, which is a big part of why starting with a language like Java or C++ makes the syntax of many other languages feel immediately familiar.

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int total = 0;
        for (int i = 1; i <= 5; i++) {
            total += i;
        }
        System.out.println("Total: " + total);
    }
}

Total: 15

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