In C++, the continue statement is a control flow statement that allows you to skip the remaining code within a loop iteration and move to the next iteration. It is primarily used in loops, such as for and while loops, to control the flow of the program.
The continue statement is useful when you want to skip certain iterations of a loop based on a specific condition, without terminating the loop entirely. It allows you to bypass the execution of the remaining code within the loop and jump to the next iteration.
Here’s the general syntax of the continue statement in C++:
continue;
Let’s take a look at an example to understand how the continue statement works:
#include
int main() {
for (int i = 1; i <= 5; i++) {
if (i == 3) {
continue; // Skip iteration when i equals 3
}
std::cout << i << " ";
}
return 0;
}
In this example, we have a for loop that iterates from 1 to 5. Inside the loop, we have an if statement that checks if the value of i is equal to 3. If it is, the continue statement is executed, and the remaining code within the loop is skipped. The program then moves to the next iteration.
When we run this code, the output will be:
1 2 4 5
As you can see, the number 3 is skipped because of the continue statement. The loop continues with the next iteration, printing the numbers 1, 2, 4, and 5.
It’s important to note that the continue statement only affects the current iteration of the loop. It does not terminate the loop or skip any subsequent iterations. After executing the continue statement, the program jumps back to the loop condition and checks if it is still true. If it is, the loop continues with the next iteration; otherwise, the loop terminates.
The continue statement can be particularly useful when you want to exclude specific values or conditions from being processed within a loop. It allows you to control the flow of the loop and customize the behavior based on your requirements.
It’s worth mentioning that the continue statement can also be used in nested loops, allowing you to skip iterations within nested loops as well.
Overall, the continue statement is a powerful tool in C++ that helps you control the flow of loops and skip certain iterations based on specific conditions. It provides flexibility and customization in your code, allowing you to optimize the execution of your programs.