continue Statement in C

The continue statement skips the remaining part of the current loop iteration.

continue;

After continue, execution proceeds with the next iteration according to the rules of the loop.

continue;

The keyword continue is followed by a semicolon.

for (int i = 1; i <= 5; i++)
{
    if (i == 3)
    {
        continue;
    }

    printf("%d ", i);
}

Output:

1 2 4 5

When i is 3, the continue statement skips the printf() statement for that iteration.

for (int i = 1; i <= 10; i++)
{
    if (i % 2 == 0)
    {
        continue;
    }

    printf("%d ", i);
}

Output:

1 3 5 7 9

The even numbers are skipped.

int i = 0;

while (i < 10)
{
    i++;

    if (i == 5)
    {
        continue;
    }

    printf("%d ", i);
}

Output:

1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10

The value 5 is skipped.

int i = 0;

do
{
    i++;

    if (i == 3)
    {
        continue;
    }

    printf("%d ", i);
}
while (i < 5);

Output:

1 2 4 5

The continue statement is often used inside an if statement to decide which iterations should be skipped.

for (int i = 1; i <= 10; i++)
{
    if (i < 5)
    {
        continue;
    }

    printf("%d ", i);
}

Output:

5 6 7 8 9 10

for (int i = 1; i <= 5; i++)
{
    if (i == 3)
    {
        continue;
    }

    printf("Number: %d\n", i);
    printf("Hello\n");
}

When i is 3, both printf() statements after continue are skipped.

for (int i = 1; i <= 10; i++)
{
    if (i % 2 != 0)
    {
        continue;
    }

    printf("%d ", i);
}

Output:

2 4 6 8 10

Odd numbers are skipped, so only even numbers are printed.

for (int i = 1; i <= 10; i++)
{
    if (i % 2 == 0)
    {
        continue;
    }

    printf("%d ", i);
}

Output:

1 3 5 7 9

for (int i = 1; i <= 15; i++)
{
    if (i % 3 == 0)
    {
        continue;
    }

    printf("%d ", i);
}

Output:

1 2 4 5 7 8 10 11 13 14

int numbers[] = {10, -5, 20, -8, 30};

for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++)
{
    if (numbers[i] < 0)
    {
        continue;
    }

    printf("%d ", numbers[i]);
}

Output:

10 20 30

Negative values are skipped.

int numbers[] = {10, 0, 20, 0, 30};

for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++)
{
    if (numbers[i] == 0)
    {
        continue;
    }

    printf("%d ", numbers[i]);
}

Output:

10 20 30

int number;

for (int i = 1; i <= 5; i++)
{
    printf("Enter number: ");
    scanf("%d", &number);

    if (number < 0)
    {
        continue;
    }

    printf("Positive number = %d\n", number);
}

Negative values are ignored and the next iteration begins.

int sum = 0;

for (int i = 1; i <= 10; i++)
{
    if (i % 2 != 0)
    {
        continue;
    }

    sum += i;
}

printf("Sum = %d", sum);

Output:

Sum = 30

Only even numbers are added to the sum.

for (int i = 1; i <= 10; i++)
{
    if (i == 5)
    {
        continue;
    }

    printf("5 x %d = %d\n", i, 5 * i);
}

The multiplication for 5 is skipped.

char text[] = "HELLO";

for (int i = 0; text[i] != '\0'; i++)
{
    if (text[i] == 'L')
    {
        continue;
    }

    printf("%c ", text[i]);
}

Output:

H E O

Both occurrences of L are skipped.

char text[] = "computer";

for (int i = 0; text[i] != '\0'; i++)
{
    if (text[i] == 'o')
    {
        continue;
    }

    printf("%c", text[i]);
}

Output:

cmputer

The character o is skipped.

In a for loop, when continue is executed, control moves to the loop's update expression before the next condition check.

for (int i = 1; i <= 5; i++)
{
    if (i == 3)
    {
        continue;
    }

    printf("%d ", i);
}

After skipping 3, the i++ update still occurs.

In a while loop, you must be careful about updating the loop variable before reaching continue.

int i = 0;

while (i < 5)
{
    i++;

    if (i == 3)
    {
        continue;
    }

    printf("%d ", i);
}

Output:

1 2 4 5

The update occurs before the continue, so the loop progresses.

// continue
if (condition)
{
    continue;
}

// break
if (condition)
{
    break;
}

for (int i = 1; i <= 2; i++)
{
    for (int j = 1; j <= 5; j++)
    {
        if (j == 3)
        {
            continue;
        }

        printf("%d ", j);
    }

    printf("\n");
}

The continue affects the nearest enclosing loop, so here it skips the current iteration of the inner loop.

for (int i = 1; i <= 5; i++)
{
    if (i == 3)
    {
        continue;
    }

    printf("%d ", i);
}

printf("\nLoop completed.");

Output:

1 2 4 5
Loop completed.

The loop continues after skipping 3.

A continue statement can accidentally create an infinite loop if the loop variable is not updated before reaching it.

int i = 1;

while (i <= 5)
{
    if (i == 3)
    {
        continue;
    }

    i++;
}

When i becomes 3, continue is executed and i++ is skipped. The value remains 3, so the loop can continue forever.

Move the update before the continue when necessary.

int i = 0;

while (i < 5)
{
    i++;

    if (i == 3)
    {
        continue;
    }

    printf("%d ", i);
}

Output:

1 2 4 5

int numbers[] = {10, -2, 20, -5, 30};
int size = 5;

for (int i = 0; i < size; i++)
{
    if (numbers[i] < 0)
    {
        continue;
    }

    printf("Valid: %d\n", numbers[i]);
}

The program ignores negative values and processes only non-negative values.

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
    int n;

    printf("Enter a positive number: ");
    scanf("%d", &n);

    for (int i = 1; i <= n; i++)
    {
        if (i % 2 != 0)
        {
            continue;
        }

        printf("%d ", i);
    }

    return 0;
}

This program skips odd numbers and prints only even numbers.

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
    int number;

    for (int i = 1; i <= 5; i++)
    {
        printf("Enter number %d: ", i);
        scanf("%d", &number);

        if (number <= 0)
        {
            continue;
        }

        printf("Valid positive number: %d\n", number);
    }

    return 0;
}

Invalid values are skipped, while positive values are processed.

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
    int numbers[] = {10, -5, 20, 0, 30, -8};
    int size = 6;
    int sum = 0;

    for (int i = 0; i < size; i++)
    {
        if (numbers[i] <= 0)
        {
            continue;
        }

        sum += numbers[i];
    }

    printf("Sum of positive numbers = %d", sum);

    return 0;
}

The program skips zero and negative values and adds only positive values.

Practice the following programs:

1. Print numbers from 1 to 50 but skip multiples of 5.
2. Print only even numbers from 1 to 100.
3. Print only odd numbers from 1 to 100.
4. Skip negative numbers in an array.
5. Skip zero values in an array.
6. Calculate the sum of only positive numbers.
7. Print a multiplication table but skip the 5th row.
8. Read five numbers and ignore negative values.
9. Print a string while skipping a selected character.
10. Use continue inside a nested loop and observe its effect.

Practice carefully with both for and while loops, especially when the update statement is involved.