Java Break & Continue: Jump Statements & Labeled Nested Loops

Jump statements transfer program execution control unconditionally to another part of the program. Java provides two primary loop jump statements: break and continue, both of which support unlabeled and labeled variants.

1. The Break Statement (Loop Exit)

The break statement terminates the current loop immediately. Execution resumes at the first statement following the loop closing brace:

for (int i = 1; i <= 10; i++) {
    if (i == 6) {
        System.out.println("Target 6 found! Breaking out of loop.");
        break; // Loop terminates immediately when i is 6
    }
    System.out.print(i + " ");
}
// Output: 1 2 3 4 5 Target 6 found! Breaking out of loop.

2. The Continue Statement (Skip Current Cycle)

The continue statement skips the remainder of the current loop iteration and immediately jumps to the next cycle (evaluating the step update in a for loop, or the boolean condition in a while loop):

for (int i = 1; i <= 6; i++) {
    if (i % 2 == 0) {
        continue; // Skips even numbers
    }
    System.out.print(i + " ");
}
// Output: 1 3 5 (Even numbers 2, 4, 6 skipped!)

3. Labeled Break & Labeled Continue in Nested Loops

In deeply nested loops, standard break and continue only affect the innermost enclosing loop. To break or continue an outer loop from deep within an inner loop, use Labels:

public class LabeledLoopDemo {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // Outer loop labeled as 'outerLoop'
        outerLoop:
        for (int row = 1; row <= 3; row++) {
            for (int col = 1; col <= 3; col++) {
                if (row == 2 && col == 2) {
                    System.out.println("Breaking directly out of outerLoop at [2,2]!");
                    break outerLoop; // Exits BOTH inner and outer loops!
                }
                System.out.println("Row: " + row + ", Col: " + col);
            }
        }
        System.out.println("Execution resumed after outerLoop.");
    }
}

Output:

Row: 1, Col: 1
Row: 1, Col: 2
Row: 1, Col: 3
Row: 2, Col: 1
Breaking directly out of outerLoop at [2,2]!
Execution resumed after outerLoop.