Loop control (break, continue, labeled statements)

Java provides break and continue to control loop execution.

break

Exits the current loop immediately.

for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
    if (i == 5) {
        break;   // exits loop when i == 5
    }
    System.out.println(i);
}
// Output: 0 1 2 3 4

continue

Skips the remaining code in the current iteration and moves to the next iteration.

for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
    if (i == 2) {
        continue;   // skip printing 2
    }
    System.out.println(i);
}
// Output: 0 1 3 4

Labeled statements

Labels allow break and continue to exit or skip multiple nested loops.

Syntax:

labelName:
for (...) {
    for (...) {
        break labelName;   // exits outer loop
    }
}

Example:

outer:
for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
    for (int j = 0; j < 3; j++) {
        if (i == 1 && j == 1) {
            break outer;   // exits both loops
        }
        System.out.println(i + ", " + j);
    }
}

Using continue with labels:

outer:
for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
    for (int j = 0; j < 3; j++) {
        if (j == 1) {
            continue outer;   // skip to next iteration of outer loop
        }
        System.out.println(i + ", " + j);
    }
}