In PHP, break and continue
are used to control the execution of loops.
The break statement stops a loop, while
continue skips the remaining statements in the
current iteration and moves to the next iteration.
The break statement immediately terminates
the current loop.
<?php
for ($i = 1; $i <= 10; $i++) {
if ($i == 5) {
break;
}
echo $i . "<br>";
}
?>1
2
3
4
When $i becomes 5, the break statement
stops the loop. Therefore, 5 to 10 are not printed.
We can also use break inside a while loop to stop repetition when a condition becomes true.
<?php
$i = 1;
while ($i <= 10) {
if ($i == 6) {
break;
}
echo $i . "<br>";
$i++;
}
?>1
2
3
4
5
The loop stops when $i reaches 6.
Notice that the counter is incremented during each
iteration that reaches $i++.
The continue statement skips the remaining
statements in the current loop iteration. The loop
then proceeds to its next iteration.
<?php
for ($i = 1; $i <= 5; $i++) {
if ($i == 3) {
continue;
}
echo $i . "<br>";
}
?>1
2
4
5
When $i is 3, continue skips the echo
statement for that iteration. The loop does not stop.
We can use continue to skip odd numbers and print only even numbers.
<?php
for ($i = 1; $i <= 10; $i++) {
if ($i % 2 != 0) {
continue;
}
echo $i . "<br>";
}
?>2
4
6
8
10
The expression $i % 2 gives the remainder
after division by 2. Odd numbers have a remainder
other than zero, so they are skipped.
Break and continue can also be used inside a foreach loop to control array processing.
Example using break:
<?php
$numbers = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50];
foreach ($numbers as $number) {
if ($number == 30) {
break;
}
echo $number . "<br>";
}
?>10
20Example using continue:
<?php
$numbers = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50];
foreach ($numbers as $number) {
if ($number == 30) {
continue;
}
echo $number . "<br>";
}
?>10
20
40
50When using nested loops, an ordinary break or continue affects the innermost loop in which it appears.
Example using break:
<?php
for ($i = 1; $i <= 3; $i++) {
echo "Outer loop: $i<br>";
for ($j = 1; $j <= 3; $j++) {
if ($j == 2) {
break;
}
echo "Inner loop: $j<br>";
}
}
?>Outer loop: 1
Inner loop: 1
Outer loop: 2
Inner loop: 1
Outer loop: 3
Inner loop: 1
The inner loop stops whenever $j reaches 2,
but the outer loop continues.
PHP also supports break 2; to exit two
nested loop levels and continue 2; to
continue at the next iteration of the second enclosing
loop level.
| Break | Continue |
|---|---|
| Terminates the current loop. | Skips the current iteration. |
| No further iterations of that loop occur. | The loop proceeds to its next iteration. |
| Useful when a target is found. | Useful when certain values should be skipped. |
| Can be used in loops and switch statements. | Primarily used to skip loop iterations. |
Break example:
<?php
for ($i = 1; $i <= 5; $i++) {
if ($i == 3) {
break;
}
echo $i . " ";
}
?>Output: 1 2
Continue example:
<?php
for ($i = 1; $i <= 5; $i++) {
if ($i == 3) {
continue;
}
echo $i . " ";
}
?>Output: 1 2 4 5
Be careful when using continue inside a while loop. If the counter update is skipped, the loop may never reach its stopping condition.
Incorrect example:
<?php
$i = 1;
while ($i <= 5) {
if ($i == 3) {
continue;
}
echo $i . "<br>";
$i++;
}
?>
Why is it incorrect? When
$i becomes 3, continue skips
$i++. The value stays 3, so the loop
repeats indefinitely.
Correct example:
<?php
$i = 1;
while ($i <= 5) {
if ($i == 3) {
$i++;
continue;
}
echo $i . "<br>";
$i++;
}
?>1
2
4
5The counter is incremented before continue, so the loop progresses correctly.
Suppose we want to search for a number in an array. Once the number is found, we can use break to stop searching.
<?php
$numbers = [12, 25, 38, 45, 60];
$search = 38;
$found = false;
foreach ($numbers as $number) {
if ($number == $search) {
$found = true;
break;
}
}
if ($found) {
echo "Number found!";
} else {
echo "Number not found!";
}
?>Number found!The loop stops as soon as the target number is found. This avoids unnecessary iterations.
1. What does the break statement do?
2. What happens when continue executes inside a loop?
3. What can cause an infinite while loop when using continue?