Java - break Statement

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The Java break statement is used to exit a loop immediately and transfer control to the next statement after the loop. It has two main usages: when encountered inside a loop, it terminates the loop instantly, and in a switch statement, it is used to exit a specific case (covered in the next chapter).

Syntax of break Statement

The syntax of a break is a single statement inside any loop or switch case −

break;

Flow Diagram of break Statement

See the following image to know how break statement works to stop the execution of a loop:

Using break with while Loop

You can use the break statement can be used with the while loop to stop its execution.

Example

In this example, we're showing the use of a break statement to break a while loop to print numbers starting from 10 to 14 which will otherwise print element till 19. Here we've initialized an int variable x with a value of 10. Then in while loop, we're checking x as less than 20 and within while loop, we're printing the value of x and incrementing the value of x by 1. While loop will run until x becomes 15. Once x is 15, break statement will break the while loop and program exits.

public class Test {

   public static void main(String args[]) {
      int x = 10;

      while( x < 20 ) {
         if(x == 15){
            break;		 
         }	     
         System.out.print("value of x : " + x );
         x++;
         System.out.print("\n");
      }
   }
}

Output

value of x : 10
value of x : 11
value of x : 12
value of x : 13
value of x : 14

Using break with for Loop

You can also use the break statement can be used with the for loop to stop its execution.

Example

In this example, we're showing the use of a break statement within a for loop to print few elements of an array instead of all elements. Here we're creating an array of integers as numbers and initialized it some values. We've created a variable named index to represent index of the array within for loop, check it against size of the array and incremented it by 1. Within for loop body, we're printing element of the array using index notation. Once 30 is encountered as value, break statement breaks the flow of for loop and program quits.

public class Test {

   public static void main(String args[]) {
      int [] numbers = {10, 20, 30, 40, 50};

      for(int index = 0; index < numbers.length; index++) {
         if(numbers[index] == 30){
            break;
         }
         System.out.print("value of item : " + numbers[index] );         
         System.out.print("\n");
      }
   }
}

Output

value of item : 10
value of item : 20

Using break with an Infinite Loop

An infinite loop executes loop statements indefinitely. To stop the execution of an infinite loop, you can use the break statement inside a condition. When the program encounters the specified condition, the break statement terminates the loop.

Example

In this example, we're showing the use of break statement to break an infinite loop using while loop. It will keep printing the numbers until the value of x becomes 15.

public class Test {

   public static void main(String args[]) {
      int x = 10;

      while( true ) {
         System.out.print("value of x : " + x );
         x++;
         if(x == 15) {
            break;
         }
         System.out.print("\n");
      }
   }
}

Output

value of item : 10
value of item : 11
value of item : 12
value of item : 13
value of item : 14

Using break with switch Statement

The break statement is used in a switch statement to exit a case once it has been executed. Without the break statement, execution continues to the next case until a break is encountered or the switch block ends.

Example

In this example, we demonstrate the use of the break statement inside a switch statement. The program prints the corresponding day name based on the given day number.

public class Test {
   public static void main(String args[]) {
      int day = 3;

      switch (day) {
         case 1:
            System.out.println("Monday");
            break;
         case 2:
            System.out.println("Tuesday");
            break;
         case 3:
            System.out.println("Wednesday");
            break;
         case 4:
            System.out.println("Thursday");
            break;
         case 5:
            System.out.println("Friday");
            break;
         case 6:
            System.out.println("Saturday");
            break;
         case 7:
            System.out.println("Sunday");
            break;
         default:
            System.out.println("Invalid day");
      }
   }
}

Output

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Wednesday