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JavaScript JavaScript Loops, Arrays and Objects Simplify Repetitive Tasks with Loops A Closer Look At Loop Conditions

Abhinav Dhiman
Abhinav Dhiman
4,989 Points
Posted by Abhinav Dhiman
Abhinav Dhiman
4,989 Points

Bummer your code takes too long to run

Pls help..

app.js 
var secret = prompt("What is the secret password?");
while( secret ==='sesame'){
document.write("You know the secret password. Welcome.");
}
index.html 
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <title>JavaScript Loops</title>
</head>
<body>
<script src="app.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

2 Answers

Bob Boursaw
Bob Boursaw
2,047 Points
Bob Boursaw
Bob Boursaw
2,047 Points

I am pretty new to this, but thought I would provide my thoughts based on the above code.

In the 'while' statement, you have 3 equals signs but believe it should be just 2. = is assignment while == equated to "is".

Also, does the while condition need to have the conditional portion within ()?

while (secret == sesame) { // do this }

I may be off base here, so if I am, my apologies.

Ricardo Hill-Henry
Ricardo Hill-Henry
38,442 Points

You were getting closed towards the end. However, Javascript does include a comparison operator that uses === called strict equality. The double equal sign is called loose equality. To see the difference, open your console and try the following:

0 == "0"
//returns true... well that's not right?
0 === "0"
//returns false... now that looks better!

When using the double equal sign, Javascript does automatic type conversion. So instead of evaluating a string with "0" with an integer of 0, Javascript converts that string to it's numerical equivalent.

Ricardo Hill-Henry
Ricardo Hill-Henry
38,442 Points
Ricardo Hill-Henry
Ricardo Hill-Henry
38,442 Points

Your code takes to long to run, because your loop never ends if the user types in "sesame". They'll get a page with "You know the secret password. Welcome." being printed endlessly.

The way the question is written sorta tricks you up. You aren't necessarily worried about what the code does when the secret is "sesame". You should actually be checking for when secret is not "sesame". In this case, if secret is not "sesame" you want to keep asking for the secret. If secret is sesame, you want to stop asking.

var secret; //you could also add a prompt here if you'd like
while( secret !=='sesame'){
    secret = prompt("What is the secret password?");
}