Java continue Statement
In this tutorial, you will learn about the continue statement and labeled
continue statement in Java with the help of examples.
While working with loops, sometimes you might want to skip some
statements or terminate the loop. In such cases, break and continue statements
are used.
To learn about the break statement, visit Java break. Here, we will learn about
the continue statement.
Java continue
The continue statement skips the current iteration of a loop
( for , while , do...while , etc).
After the continue statement, the program moves to the end of the loop. And,
test expression is evaluated (update statement is evaluated in case of the for
loop).
Here's the syntax of the continue statement.
continue;
Note: The continue statement is almost always used in decision-making
statements (if...else Statement).
Working of Java continue statement
Working of Java continue Statement
Example 1: Java continue statement
class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
// for loop
for (int i = 1; i <= 10; ++i) {
// if value of i is between 4 and 9
// continue is executed
if (i > 4 && i < 9) {
continue;
}
System.out.println(i);
}
}
}
Run Code
Output:
1
2
3
4
9
10
In the above program, we are using the for loop to print the value of i in each
iteration. To know how for loop works, visit Java for loop. Notice the
statement,
if (i > 4 && i < 9) {
continue;
}
Here, the continue statement is executed when the value of i becomes more
than 4 and less than 9.
It then skips the print statement for those values. Hence, the output skips the
values 5, 6, 7, and 8.
Example 2: Compute the sum of 5 positive numbers
import java.util.Scanner;
class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Double number, sum = 0.0;
// create an object of Scanner
Scanner input = new Scanner(System.in);
for (int i = 1; i < 6; ++i) {
System.out.print("Enter number " + i + " : ");
// takes input from the user
number = input.nextDouble();
// if number is negative
// continue statement is executed
if (number <= 0.0) {
continue;
}
sum += number;
}
System.out.println("Sum = " + sum);
input.close();
}
}
Run Code
Output:
Enter number 1: 2.2
Enter number 2: 5.6
Enter number 3: 0
Enter number 4: -2.4
Enter number 5: -3
Sum = 7.8
In the above example, we have used the for loop to print the sum of 5 positive
numbers. Notice the line,
if (number < 0.0) {
continue;
}
Here, when the user enters a negative number, the continue statement is
executed. This skips the current iteration of the loop and takes the program
control to the update expression of the loop.
Note: To take input from the user, we have used the Scanner object. To learn
more, visit Java Scanner.
Java continue with Nested Loop
In the case of nested loops in Java, the continue statement skips the current
iteration of the innermost loop.
Working of Java continue statement
with Nested Loops
Example 3: continue with Nested Loop
class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
int i = 1, j = 1;
// outer loop
while (i <= 3) {
System.out.println("Outer Loop: " + i);
// inner loop
while(j <= 3) {
if(j == 2) {
j++;
continue;
}
System.out.println("Inner Loop: " + j);
j++;
}
i++;
}
}
}
Run Code
Output
Outer Loop: 1
Inner Loop: 1
Inner Loop: 3
Outer Loop: 2
Outer Loop: 3
In the above example, we have used the nested while loop. Note that we have
used the continue statement inside the inner loop.
if(j == 2) {
j++;
continue:
}
Here, when the value of j is 2, the value of j is increased and
the continue statement is executed.
This skips the iteration of the inner loop. Hence, the text Inner Loop: 2 is
skipped from the output.
Labeled continue Statement
Till now, we have used the unlabeled continue statement. However, there is
another form of continue statement in Java known as labeled continue.
It includes the label of the loop along with the continue keyword. For example,
continue label;
Here, the continue statement skips the current iteration of the loop specified
by label .
Working of the Java labeled continue Statement
We can see that the label identifier specifies the outer loop. Notice the use of
the continue inside the inner loop.
Here, the continue statement is skipping the current iteration of the labeled
statement (i.e. outer loop). Then, the program control goes to the next
iteration of the labeled statement.
Example 4: labeled continue Statement
class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
// outer loop is labeled as first
first:
for (int i = 1; i < 6; ++i) {
// inner loop
for (int j = 1; j < 5; ++j) {
if (i == 3 || j == 2)
// skips the current iteration of outer loop
continue first;
System.out.println("i = " + i + "; j = " + j);
}
}
}
}
Run Code
Output:
i = 1; j = 1
i = 2; j = 1
i = 4; j = 1
i = 5; j = 1
In the above example, the labeled continue statement is used to skip the
current iteration of the loop labeled as first .
if (i==3 || j==2)
continue first;
Here, we can see the outermost for loop is labeled as first ,
first:
for (int i = 1; i < 6; ++i) {..}
Hence, the iteration of the outer for loop is skipped if the value of i is 3 or the
value of j is 2.
Note: The use of labeled continue is often discouraged as it makes your code
hard to understand. If you are in a situation where you have to use
labeled continue , refactor your code and try to solve it in a different way to
make it more readable.
