loops.rb

# anything after a pound sign is just a comment, like notes, doesn't affect functionality at all

# this is a normal loop, since true is always true, the loop runs forever
while true # while evaluates whatever value it's given by the programmer
  puts "This text gets printed to the screen over and over."
end # this is the end of the block. since it's a loop,
# the flow returns back to the top of the while block

# this is a recursive loop
@number = 0 # this is how you create variables, just little jars of data
def recurse # this is how you define a function, it's just a way of grouping code into more manageable chunks
  puts @number # this prints the variable number to the screen
  @number = @number + 1 # this is obvious
  recurse # this is where the recursion happens
end
recurse # the recursive function is now called or executed

# you have something called control flow, basically just wherever the computer is currently at in your code
# so when the recursive function is called, it ends up calling itself again, before it's ever able to reach the end of itself
# thus you have what's called a stack overflow, when the call stack becomes so deep that the computer runs out of memory
# a great recipe for viruses in the 90s