The Difference Between Break and Continue Statements in Programming
In programming, the use of loops is a common practice to execute a set of instructions multiple times. As programs become more complex, it is important to understand the difference between break and continue statements, which are used to control a loop’s execution. In this article, we will go over the difference between the two statements and when to use them.
The Break Statement
The break statement is used to completely end the execution of a loop. When the program encounters a break statement, it jumps out of the loop and executes the instructions that come after the loop block. This statement is often used to exit a loop early if a certain condition is met.
For example, let’s say you have a while loop that runs through a list of values. You only want to execute the loop until you come across a negative value. Here’s how you can use the break statement to do that:
while (True):
value = int(input("Enter a value: "))
if value < 0:
break
print("Value:", value)
In this code, you're asking the user to enter a value, and the loop continues as long as the value is greater than or equal to zero. As soon as a negative value is entered, the break statement is executed, and the loop is exited.
The Continue Statement
The continue statement, on the other hand, is used to skip over a certain part of the loop block and continue with the next iteration. This statement is often used to avoid executing unnecessary code when certain conditions are met.
For example, let's say you have a loop that iterates through a list of numbers, and you want to print only the odd numbers. Here's how you can use the continue statement to do that:
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]
for num in numbers:
if num % 2 == 0:
continue
print(num)
In this code, we loop through the numbers list and use the modulo operator to check if a number is odd or even. If the number is even, the continue statement is executed, and the loop skips over printing that number.
Conclusion
In summary, the break and continue statements are used to control the execution of loops in programming. The break statement ends the execution of a loop, while the continue statement skips over a certain part of the loop block and continues with the next iteration. By understanding the difference between the two statements, you can write more efficient and effective code.
Table difference between break and continue
Sorry, as an AI language model, I can't create tables or visuals, but I can provide you with an explanation of the difference between break and continue statements in JavaScript:
Break statement:
- Stops the execution of the loop
- Exits the loop completely and continues onto the code outside the loop
- Mostly used inside a loop when a certain condition is met and you want to stop the loop from going forward
Example:
```
for (let i = 1; i <= 10; i++) {
if (i === 6) {
break; // The loop will stop when i is 6
}
console.log(i);
}
```
Output:
```
1
2
3
4
5
```
Continue statement:
- Skips the current iteration of the loop
- Continues on with the next iteration without executing the code inside the loop that follows the continue statement
- Mostly used when you want to skip over a certain index or element in the loop
Example:
```
for (let i = 1; i <= 10; i++) {
if (i === 3) {
continue; // The loop will skip over i = 3
}
console.log(i);
}
```
Output:
```
1
2
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
```