The loop Construct in Clojure

loop introduces a set of local bindings and a recursion point that recur can jump back to. Together, loop/recur is the idiomatic way to write an explicit loop without mutating variables.

You use it when:

• you need multiple evolving values (like two indexes, or a queue + accumulator)
• early termination matters
• the loop logic is clearer than a deeply nested reduce

Java mental model: this is the “while loop” tool, but the evolving state is explicit in the binding vector instead of being mutated in place.

This section helps you recognize when loop/recur is the simplest option and how to keep it readable.

In this section

• Using loop and recur in Clojure
  Use loop to create a local recursion point and recur to update bindings without mutable Java-style loop variables or unbounded stack growth.
• loop/recur Examples in Clojure
  Practice loop/recur with counters, accumulators, collection scans, and state transitions so Java loop patterns translate into clear Clojure code.