Western Governors University (WGU) ITSW 2113 D278 Scripting and Programming Foundations Practice Exam

The key distinction that sets a do-while loop apart from a while loop is that a do-while loop always executes its body at least once, regardless of whether the condition evaluates to true or false. This behavior is defined by the structure of the do-while loop, which first executes the block of code, and then checks the specified condition. If the condition is true, it will continue executing the loop; if false, it will exit after that single execution.

This characteristic is particularly useful in scenarios where an initial action must occur before any condition can be evaluated, such as prompting a user for input at least once before checking if the input meets a specific criterion. In contrast, a while loop checks the condition prior to executing its body, meaning it may not run at all if the condition is initially false.

Thus, understanding that a do-while loop guarantees at least one execution of the loop body is crucial for effectively utilizing this structure in programming.