break and continue in Bash Scripting - Step-by-Step Execution

Concept Flow - break and continue

Start Loop

↓

Check Condition

Yes↓

Inside Loop Body

↓

If 'continue' condition?

Yes→Skip rest, go to next iteration

↓

If 'break' condition?

Yes→Exit Loop

↓

Execute remaining code

↓

Next iteration

↩Back to Check Condition

The loop starts and checks its condition. Inside the loop, if 'continue' is triggered, it skips to the next iteration. If 'break' is triggered, it exits the loop immediately. Otherwise, it runs the remaining code and repeats.

Execution Sample

Bash Scripting

for i in {1..5}; do
  if [ "$i" -eq 3 ]; then
    continue
  fi
  if [ "$i" -eq 4 ]; then
    break
  fi
  echo $i
done

This loop prints numbers 1 to 5 but skips 3 and stops completely at 4.

Execution Table

Iteration	i	Condition 'i==3'	Action	Condition 'i==4'	Action	Output
1	1	False	No continue	False	No break	1
2	2	False	No continue	False	No break	2
3	3	True	Continue (skip echo)	N/A	N/A
4	4	False	No continue	True	Break (exit loop)

💡 Loop exits at iteration 4 because break condition is met.

Variable Tracker

Variable	Start	After 1	After 2	After 3	After 4	Final
i	N/A	1	2	3	4	Loop exited

Key Moments - 3 Insights

Why is there no output when i equals 3?

At iteration 3 in the execution_table, the 'continue' condition is true, so the loop skips the echo command and moves to the next iteration without printing.

Why does the loop stop completely at i equals 4?

At iteration 4, the 'break' condition is true, so the loop exits immediately, stopping any further iterations as shown in the execution_table.

Does 'continue' stop the entire loop?

No, 'continue' only skips the rest of the current loop iteration and moves to the next one, unlike 'break' which exits the loop entirely, as seen in the execution_table.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution_table, what is the output when i equals 3?

A 3

B No output

C 4

D Error

💡 Hint

Check the 'Action' column for iteration 3 where 'continue' skips the echo.

At which iteration does the loop stop running?

A 2

B 3

C 4

D 5

💡 Hint

Look at the 'Action' column for 'break' condition in the execution_table.

If we remove the 'continue' condition, what would be the output at iteration 3?

A 3

B No output

C Loop breaks

D Error

💡 Hint

Without 'continue', the echo command runs normally at iteration 3 as per the variable_tracker.

Concept Snapshot

break and continue in bash loops:
- 'continue' skips the rest of current iteration, moves to next
- 'break' exits the loop immediately
- Use inside loops with if conditions
- Helps control loop flow clearly and simply

Full Transcript

This example shows a bash for loop from 1 to 5. When the variable i equals 3, the script uses 'continue' to skip printing 3 and move to the next number. When i equals 4, the script uses 'break' to stop the loop completely. The execution_table traces each iteration, showing variable values, conditions checked, actions taken, and output produced. The variable_tracker shows how i changes each step. Key moments clarify why output is missing at 3 and why the loop stops at 4. The quiz tests understanding of these behaviors by referencing the execution_table and variable_tracker.