I found Stream.unfold to be quite useful for places where I don’t know how many iterations are needed to get to the end.

stream = Stream.unfold(10, fn x -> 
  if x != 0 do
    IO.puts "Hello"
    {:ok, x - 1}
  else
    nil
  end 
end)

Stream.run(stream)

There’s also Enum.reduce_while, but it needs an enumerable as input to start with.

Something like this?

def while(side_effect, i, min) when i == min do
  side_effect
end

def while(side_effect, i, min) do
  side_effect
  while(side_effect, i - 1, min)
end

while((puts "hello"), 10, 0)

I think recursion is the simplest way to go…

defmodule Looper do
  def say_hello(times_left) do
    case times_left do
      0 ->
        :ok

      x ->
        IO.puts("hello")
        say_hello(x - 1)
    end
  end
end

Looper.say_hello(10)

You could use if instead of case since there are only two patterns.

Alternatively:

defmodule Looper do
  def say_hello(times_left) when times_left > 0 do
    IO.puts("hello")
    say_hello(times_left - 1)
  end

  def say_hello(times_left) when times_left == 0 do
    :ok  
  end
end

Looper.say_hello(10)

defmodule Demo do

  def while(pred, next, data) do
    case pred.(data) do
      true ->
        while(pred, next, next.(data))
      _ ->
        data
    end
  end

  def positive_non_zero?(i),
    do: i > 0

  def say_hello_once(i) do
    IO.puts("hello")
    i - 1
  end

  def demo1,
    do: while(&positive_non_zero?/1, &say_hello_once/1, 10)

  def demo2 do
    data = {1.01, [1.01, 1.02, 1.04]}

    p = fn {i,p} ->
      i in p
    end

    n = fn {last, p} ->
      i = last + 0.01
      IO.puts(i)
      {i, p}
    end

    while(p, n, data)
  end

end

IO.puts("# demo1")
IO.inspect(Demo.demo1())
IO.puts("# demo2")
IO.inspect(Demo.demo2())

$ elixir demo.exs
# demo1
hello
hello
hello
hello
hello
hello
hello
hello
hello
hello
0
# demo2
1.02
1.03
{1.03, [1.01, 1.02, 1.04]}
$

Refactoring: Replace Iteration with Recursion
Refactoring: Replace Recursion with Iteration

Recursion to Iteration Series
Recursion? We don’t need no stinking recursion!

Try this

   def while(1) do 
     puts "hello"
   end

   def while(x) do
     puts "hello"
     while(x-1)
   end

I just want to comment on something, at first glance all the solutions posted on this page look kind of complicated for such a simple thing. But you almost never need to write such code in the real world.

In actual apps, you want to iterate over some collection of data items. The for or while loop is how you do that in an imperative language: you have some “iterator” kind of value–a simple index for an array, something else for a map or set–increment that, check if it’s out of range, use it to access your data collection.

In functional languages, you pass the operation you want to perform on the data as an argument to one of the collection’s functions. In Elixir, Enum.map or Enum.reduce. This actually results in more compact code because it eliminates the whole “get an iterator, increment, check it, use it” dance.

So while this particular exercise can help you understand some low-level mechanics of Elixir, it could also be misleading. Please don’t think you have to jump through the hoops of all these solutions in order to do something with an array of values you get back from your database or submitted from a web form

That said, here is my solution:

Enum.each(10..1, fn(i) -> IO.puts(i) end)

or, using some shorthand:

Enum.each(10..1, &(IO.puts("#{&1}")))

or, if you want to prove you actually understand passing around functions:

Enum.each(10..1, &IO.puts/1)

But even that could be misleading, because in a functional language you don’t often just “run a loop” over a collection for side effects, you usually produce a value, either a set of values produce from each source value (Enum.map) or a single value derived from the whole set (Enum.reduce).

Almost, but not quite

  def while(0) do
  end

  def while(x) do
     puts "hello"
     while(x - 1)
  end

And in real life, you probably want def while(x) when x > 0 do

@Zesky665 Haha, you & I were correcting at the same time!

However by bypassing the “low-level mechanics” (and going straight for higher order functions) you are giving up on the opportunity to explore the general connection (and differences) between recursion and iteration, for example:

• how iteration fundamentally relies on mutability to operate
• while recursion accomplishes the the same job in an immutable environment[**]

Granted that lesson seems more important in an environment where mutability is a possible choice - where it might be prudent to be “Immutable where possible, mutable (only) when needed”.

[**] which is how the basic HOFs operate.

look kind of complicated for such a simple thing.

Another matter is that a while loop isn’t just one single concept. There is the idea of

• the body that is executed
• the predicate which determines whether the body is executed (again)

So the concept of a while loop may actually be seen as more basic than it actually is just because certain programming languages offer a single statement or expression as a representation for it.

You’re right, I always forget that you can just leave a function empty and it won’t cause an error.