Introduction

We're taking a leap today to learn break and continue, our control tools in Java loops. break works as an exit, allowing you to leave a loop early, while continue assists in skipping unneeded iterations. Let's get started!

Break Statement

Think of the break command as representing the moment the music stops during a game of musical chairs, prompting you to exit the loop. It ends the loop regardless of the loop's original condition.

Here is a quick example:

Our loop operates on numbers from 0 to 6 and breaks when it reaches 7, taking an early exit and skipping all remaining iterations.

Continue Statement

The keyword continue in Java is analogous to skipping a boring view during a walk. It disregards the current loop iteration and jumps ahead to the next one.

Here is an example:

Our output presents admiration logs for all buildings except numbers 4 and 7, which our continue statement omits.

Break and Continue in Nested Loops

Nested loops, like a spiral galaxy with numerous orbits, are loops within loops. Even in these spinning spirals, break and continue function distinctly. It is important to mention that both break and continue will exit/skip only the corresponding inner loop, not affecting the outer loop. Let's illustrate this with a couple of examples.

Consider a nested loop running on a 5x5 grid.

Here, break ends the inner loop when i and j both equal 3. Thus, when i becomes 3, the inner loop runs only up to j = 2 and then breaks. However, the outer loop continues until i = 5.

Meanwhile, let's introduce 'continue' in a similar setup.

continue, once it meets the i == 3 && j == 3 condition, skips the rest of the code inside its loop and instantly moves to the next iteration. In this case, it means we skip printing j when both i and j are equal to 3.

Lesson Summary and Practice

Well done! You've learned the break and continue commands, giving you control over Java loops. Practice is essential for mastering these concepts. Let's embark on some exercises to enhance your skills. Enjoy your practice session!

Sign up
Join the 1M+ learners on CodeSignal
Be a part of our community of 1M+ users who develop and demonstrate their skills on CodeSignal