Break and Continue Statements in C

1. Break Statement

The break statement is used to terminate the nearest enclosing loop or a switch statement immediately. When a break statement is executed, the control exits from the loop or switch, skipping any remaining iterations or cases.

Syntax:

break;

Usage in Loops:

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    for (int i = 1; i <= 5; i++) {
        if (i == 3) {
            break; // Exit the loop when i equals 3
        }
        printf("%d ", i);
    }
    return 0;
}

Output:

1 2

Usage in Switch:

#include < stdio.h>

int main() {
    int choice = 2;
    switch (choice) {
        case 1:
            printf("Option 1\n");
            break;
        case 2:
            printf("Option 2\n");
            break; // Exits the switch after this case
        default:
            printf("Default Option\n");
    }
    return 0;
}

Output:

Option 2

2.Continue Statement

The continue statement is used to skip the current iteration of the nearest enclosing loop and move to the next iteration. Unlike break, continue does not terminate the loop entirely; it just skips the remaining code in the current iteration.

Sntax:

continue;

Usage:

#include < stdio.h>

int main() {
    for (int i = 1; i <= 5; i++) {
        if (i == 3) {
            continue; // Skip the rest of the loop body when i equals 3
        }
        printf("%d ", i);
    }
    return 0;
}

Output:

1 2 4 5

Key Differences Between Break and Continue: