Break And Continue: Control Loop Execution

Break exits loops. Continue skips to next iteration. Control flow.

Here's the thing: Break and continue control loops. Use them when needed.

break: Exit Loop

while true; do
    read input
    if [ "$input" = "quit" ]; then
        break
    fi
    echo "$input"
done

My take: break exits loop. Use it to exit early.

continue: Skip Iteration

for i in {1..10}; do
    if [ $((i % 2)) -eq 0 ]; then
        continue
    fi
    echo "$i"
done

My take: continue skips to next iteration. Use it to skip.

Common Patterns

Exit On Condition

for file in *.txt; do
    if [ ! -f "$file" ]; then
        break
    fi
    process "$file"
done

Skip Invalid Items

for item in "$@"; do
    if [ -z "$item" ]; then
        continue
    fi
    process "$item"
done

Common Mistakes (I've Made These)

1. Using break in wrong place: Break exits loop. Make sure it's where you want.

2. Not understanding continue: Continue skips iteration. Doesn't exit loop.

3. Too many breaks: Too many breaks make code hard to follow. Use carefully.

What's Next?

Now that you understand break and continue, let's talk about Nested Controls.

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Personal note: Break and continue seemed simple. Then I used them wrong. Now I understand them. They're useful. Use them carefully.