C# Break/Continue

Last modified on: October 19, 2024

<h3>C# Break and Continue: Control Flow in Loops</h3>
<p>In C#, <code>break</code> and <code>continue</code> are control flow statements that can be used to manage the execution of loops. These statements provide a way to either exit a loop prematurely or skip specific iterations within a loop, enhancing your control over loop behavior.</p>
<hr />
<h3>1. <strong>The <code>break</code> Statement</strong></h3>
<p>The <code>break</code> statement is used to immediately terminate the loop in which it resides. When <code>break</code> is encountered, the program exits the loop, and control moves to the next statement after the loop.</p>
<h4>Syntax:</h4>
<pre class="language-csharp"><code>break;
</code></pre>
<p><strong>Example 1: Breaking Out of a <code>for</code> Loop</strong></p>
<pre class="language-csharp"><code>for (int i = 1; i &lt;= 10; i++)
{
    if (i == 5)
    {
        break;  // Exit the loop when i is 5
    }
    Console.WriteLine(i);
}
</code></pre>
<p><strong>Output:</strong></p>
<pre class="language-csharp"><code>1
2
3
4
</code></pre>
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<p>In this example, the loop terminates when <code>i</code> reaches 5, so numbers 1 through 4 are printed, and then the loop exits.</p>
<h4>Example 2: Breaking Out of a <code>while</code> Loop</h4>
<pre class="language-csharp"><code>int i = 1;

while (i &lt;= 10)
{
    if (i == 6)
    {
        break;  // Exit the loop when i is 6
    }
    Console.WriteLine(i);
    i++;
}
</code></pre>
<p><strong>Output:</strong></p>
<pre class="language-csharp"><code>1
2
3
4
5
</code></pre>
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<p>Here, the loop stops when <code>i</code> becomes 6, and the program continues execution after the loop.</p>
<hr />
<h3>2. <strong>The <code>continue</code> Statement</strong></h3>
<p>The <code>continue</code> statement skips the rest of the current iteration and moves the loop to the next iteration. It does not terminate the loop but simply bypasses the remaining code in that iteration.</p>
<h4>Syntax:</h4>
<pre class="language-csharp"><code>continue;
</code></pre>
<p><strong>Example 1: Using <code>continue</code> in a <code>for</code> Loop</strong></p>
<pre class="language-csharp"><code>for (int i = 1; i &lt;= 5; i++)
{
    if (i == 3)
    {
        continue;  // Skip the current iteration when i is 3
    }
    Console.WriteLine(i);
}
</code></pre>
<p><strong>Output:</strong></p>
<pre class="language-csharp"><code>1
2
4
5
</code></pre>
<p>When <code>i</code> equals 3, the <code>continue</code> statement skips the <code>Console.WriteLine(i);</code> statement for that iteration and moves to the next loop cycle.</p>
<h4>Example 2: Using <code>continue</code> in a <code>while</code> Loop</h4>
<pre class="language-csharp"><code>int i = 0;

while (i &lt; 5)
{
    i++;
    if (i == 3)
    {
        continue;  // Skip the current iteration when i is 3
    }
    Console.WriteLine(i);
}
</code></pre>
<p><strong>Output:</strong></p>
<pre class="language-csharp"><code>1
2
4
5
</code></pre>
<p>In this case, the iteration where <code>i</code> equals 3 is skipped, and the loop continues with the next iteration.</p>
<hr />
<h3>3. <strong><code>break</code> vs <code>continue</code>: Key Differences</strong></h3>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th><strong>Aspect</strong></th>
<th><strong><code>break</code></strong></th>
<th><strong><code>continue</code></strong></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>Effect</strong></td>
<td>Terminates the loop entirely.</td>
<td>Skips the rest of the current iteration.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Usage</strong></td>
<td>Use when you want to exit the loop prematurely.</td>
<td>Use when you want to skip specific iterations.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Control Flow</strong></td>
<td>Moves control to the statement after the loop.</td>
<td>Moves control to the next loop iteration.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<hr />
<h3>4. <strong>Nested Loops with <code>break</code> and <code>continue</code></strong></h3>
<p>In nested loops, <code>break</code> and <code>continue</code> only affect the loop in which they reside. To break out of an outer loop from within an inner loop, you might need additional logic.</p>
<h4>Example: Using <code>break</code> in Nested Loops</h4>
<pre class="language-csharp"><code>for (int i = 1; i &lt;= 3; i++)
{
    for (int j = 1; j &lt;= 3; j++)
    {
        if (j == 2)
        {
            break;  // Exit the inner loop when j is 2
        }
        Console.WriteLine("i = " + i + ", j = " + j);
    }
}
</code></pre>
<p><strong>Output:</strong></p>
<pre class="language-csharp"><code>i = 1, j = 1
i = 2, j = 1
i = 3, j = 1
</code></pre>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>In this example, the inner loop terminates when <code>j</code> equals 2, but the outer loop continues running.</p>
<h4>Example: Using <code>continue</code> in Nested Loops</h4>
<pre class="language-csharp"><code>for (int i = 1; i &lt;= 3; i++)
{
    for (int j = 1; j &lt;= 3; j++)
    {
        if (j == 2)
        {
            continue;  // Skip the rest of the iteration when j is 2
        }
        Console.WriteLine("i = " + i + ", j = " + j);
    }
}
</code></pre>
<p><strong>Output:</strong></p>
<pre class="language-csharp"><code>i = 1, j = 1
i = 1, j = 3
i = 2, j = 1
i = 2, j = 3
i = 3, j = 1
i = 3, j = 3
</code></pre>
<p>When <code>j</code> equals 2, the inner loop skips the rest of that iteration and continues with the next.</p>
<hr />
<h3>5. <strong>Common Use Cases</strong></h3>
<h4><strong><code>break</code> Use Cases:</strong></h4>
<ul>
<li>Exiting a loop early if a condition is met (e.g., finding a specific element in an array).</li>
<li>Terminating infinite loops once a valid condition is reached.</li>
</ul>
<h4><strong><code>continue</code> Use Cases:</strong></h4>
<ul>
<li>Skipping specific iterations in a loop (e.g., filtering out unwanted data).</li>
<li>Avoiding certain conditions while processing a list of items.</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
<p>The <code>break</code> and <code>continue</code> statements give you fine control over loops in C#. <code>break</code> allows you to exit loops prematurely, while <code>continue</code> lets you skip certain iterations. Both are valuable tools for managing loop behavior in different scenarios, ensuring your program runs as intended.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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