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06.Java Break Statement

This tutorial explains the break statement in Java, which is used to terminate loops immediately and transfer control to the next statement following the loop. It covers both the standard break statement and the labeled break statement, which can terminate outer loops. Examples illustrate how these statements work in various loop structures and user input scenarios.

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1 views

06.Java Break Statement

This tutorial explains the break statement in Java, which is used to terminate loops immediately and transfer control to the next statement following the loop. It covers both the standard break statement and the labeled break statement, which can terminate outer loops. Examples illustrate how these statements work in various loop structures and user input scenarios.

Uploaded by

David
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Java break Statement

In this tutorial, you will learn about the break statement, labeled break
statement in Java with the help of examples.

While working with loops, it is sometimes desirable to skip some statements


inside the loop or terminate the loop immediately without checking the test
expression.

In such cases, break and continue statements are used. You will learn about
the Java continue statement in the next tutorial.

The break statement in Java terminates the loop immediately, and the control
of the program moves to the next statement following the loop.
It is almost always used with decision-making statements (Java if...else
Statement).
Here is the syntax of the break statement in Java:

break;

How break statement works?


Working of Java break Statement

Example 1: Java break statement


class Test {
public static void main(String[] args) {

// for loop
for (int i = 1; i <= 10; ++i) {

// if the value of i is 5 the loop terminates


if (i == 5) {
break;
}
System.out.println(i);
}
}
}
Run Code

Output:

1
2
3
4

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 the Java for loop. Here, notice the
statement,

if (i == 5) {
break;
}

This means when the value of i is equal to 5, the loop terminates. Hence we
get the output with values less than 5 only.

Example 2: Java break statement

The program below calculates the sum of numbers entered by the user until
user enters a negative number.

To take input from the user, we have used the Scanner object. To learn more
about Scanner , visit Java Scanner.
import java.util.Scanner;

class UserInputSum {
public static void main(String[] args) {

Double number, sum = 0.0;

// create an object of Scanner


Scanner input = new Scanner(System.in);

while (true) {
System.out.print("Enter a number: ");

// takes double input from user


number = input.nextDouble();

// if number is negative the loop terminates


if (number < 0.0) {
break;
}

sum += number;
}
System.out.println("Sum = " + sum);
}
}
Run Code

Output:

Enter a number: 3.2


Enter a number: 5
Enter a number: 2.3
Enter a number: 0
Enter a number: -4.5
Sum = 10.5

In the above program, the test expression of the while loop is always true .
Here, notice the line,

if (number < 0.0) {


break;
}

This means when the user input negative numbers, the while loop is
terminated.

Java break and Nested Loop


In the case of nested loops, the break statement terminates the innermost
loop.
Working of break Statement with Nested
Loops
Here, the break statement terminates the innermost while loop, and control
jumps to the outer loop.

Labeled break Statement


Till now, we have used the unlabeled break statement. It terminates the
innermost loop and switch statement. However, there is another form of
break statement in Java known as the labeled break.

We can use the labeled break statement to terminate the outermost loop as
well.
Working of the labeled break
statement in Java
As you can see in the above image, we have used the label identifier to specify
the outer loop. Now, notice how the break statement is used ( break label; ).

Here, the break statement is terminating the labeled statement (i.e. outer
loop). Then, the control of the program jumps to the statement after the
labeled statement.
Here's another example:

while (testExpression) {
// codes
second:
while (testExpression) {
// codes
while(testExpression) {
// codes
break second;
}
}
// control jumps here
}

In the above example, when the statement break second; is executed,


the while loop labeled as second is terminated. And, the control of the program
moves to the statement after the second while loop.
Example 3: labeled break Statement
class LabeledBreak {
public static void main(String[] args) {

// the for loop is labeled as first


first:
for( int i = 1; i < 5; i++) {

// the for loop is labeled as second


second:
for(int j = 1; j < 3; j ++ ) {
System.out.println("i = " + i + "; j = " +j);

// the break statement breaks the first for loop


if ( i == 2)
break first;
}
}
}
}
Run Code

Output:

i = 1; j = 1
i = 1; j = 2
i = 2; j = 1

In the above example, the labeled break statement is used to terminate the
loop labeled as first. That is,

first:
for(int i = 1; i < 5; i++) {...}

Here, if we change the statement break first; to break second; the program
will behave differently. In this case, for loop labeled as second will be
terminated. For example,
class LabeledBreak {
public static void main(String[] args) {

// the for loop is labeled as first


first:
for( int i = 1; i < 5; i++) {
// the for loop is labeled as second
second:
for(int j = 1; j < 3; j ++ ) {

System.out.println("i = " + i + "; j = " +j);

// the break statement terminates the loop labeled as second


if ( i == 2)
break second;
}
}
}
}
Run Code

Output:

i = 1; j = 1
i = 1; j = 2
i = 2; j = 1
i = 3; j = 1
i = 3; j = 2
i = 4; j = 1
i = 4; j = 2

Note: The break statement is also used to terminate cases inside


the switch statement. To learn more, visit the Java switch statement.

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