Swift Break and Continue Statements

In Swift programming, break and continue statements are powerful tools for controlling the flow of loops. These statements enhance code readability and efficiency by allowing developers to skip iterations or exit loops prematurely.

The Break Statement

The break statement immediately terminates the execution of a loop. It's particularly useful when you want to exit a loop based on a specific condition.

Example of Break Statement

for number in 1...10 {
    if number == 5 {
        break
    }
    print(number)
}
// Output: 1 2 3 4
    

In this example, the loop prints numbers from 1 to 4 and then exits when it reaches 5.

The Continue Statement

The continue statement skips the rest of the current iteration and moves to the next one. It's useful when you want to skip certain elements in a loop without terminating it entirely.

Example of Continue Statement

for number in 1...5 {
    if number % 2 == 0 {
        continue
    }
    print(number)
}
// Output: 1 3 5
    

This code prints only odd numbers by skipping even numbers using the continue statement.

Best Practices

• Use break when you need to exit a loop early based on a condition.
• Employ continue to skip specific iterations without terminating the entire loop.
• Be cautious with nested loops; break and continue affect only the innermost loop containing them.
• Consider using labeled statements with break and continue in nested loops for more precise control.

Related Concepts

To further enhance your understanding of loop control in Swift, explore these related topics:

• Swift For Loops
• Swift While Loops
• Swift Repeat-While Loops
• Swift Guard Statements

Mastering break and continue statements will significantly improve your ability to write efficient and readable Swift code, especially when dealing with complex loop structures.