Q 34 - break, continue & return

[HARSHITH-MV]

What is the difference between break, continue, and return?

[AmjustGettingStarted]

🔄 break

• Purpose: Immediately exits a loop or switch block.
• Use case: When a certain condition is met and you want to stop the loop right away.

for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
    if (i == 5) break; // Loop stops here
    System.out.println(i);
}

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⏩ continue

• Purpose: Skips the current iteration and moves to the next one.
• Use case: To ignore specific conditions but keep looping.

for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
    if (i % 2 == 0) continue; // Skip even numbers
    System.out.println(i);
}

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🔚 return

• Purpose: Exits from a method and optionally returns a value.
• Use case: When you’ve got your result or hit an error—end the method there.

int add(int a, int b) {
    return a + b; // Method ends here
}

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🚥 Summary Table

Keyword	Scope	Effect
break	Loops, switch	Exits the loop or switch block
continue	Loops only	Skips current iteration
return	Methods only	Exits method, optionally returns value

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