A sequence of instructions that the processor repeats, eITher until some condITion is met, or indefinITely. In an structured language (e.g. C, Pascal, BASIC, or Fortran), a loop is usually achieved wITh for loop, {while loop} or {repeat loop} constructs. In other languages these constructs may be synthesised wITh a jump (assembly language) or a GOTO (early Fortran or BASIC). (1999-05-06)