Continue statement in C++ - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Using the Continue Statement in C++

📖 Scenario: Imagine you are organizing a small race event. You have a list of runners with their ages. You want to print the names of only the adult runners (age 18 or older) who are allowed to participate.

🎯 Goal: Build a C++ program that uses the continue statement inside a for loop to skip runners who are under 18 years old and print only the names of adult runners.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a list of runners with their ages using an array of structs

Use a variable to store the minimum age allowed (18)

Use a for loop to go through each runner

Use the continue statement to skip runners younger than 18

Print the names of runners who are 18 or older

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Filtering lists of people or items based on conditions is common in many programs, such as event management, user access control, or data processing.

💼 Career

Understanding how to control loops and skip unwanted data is a fundamental skill for software developers, especially when working with collections of data.

1

Create the runners data

Create a struct called Runner with two members: name (string) and age (int). Then create an array called runners with these exact entries: {"Alice", 17}, {"Bob", 20}, {"Charlie", 16}, {"Diana", 22}.

C++

// Define struct Runner and create array runners with given entries
// Your code here

Hint

Use struct to define Runner. Then create an array with the exact runners and ages.

2

Set the minimum age allowed

Create an int variable called min_age and set it to 18.

C++

#include 
#include 

struct Runner {
    std::string name;
    int age;
};

Runner runners[] = {
    {"Alice", 17},
    {"Bob", 20},
    {"Charlie", 16},
    {"Diana", 22}
};

// Create int variable min_age and set to 18
// Your code here

Hint

Just create a simple integer variable named min_age and assign 18 to it.

3

Use a for loop with continue to skip underage runners

Write a for loop that goes through each runner in runners. Inside the loop, use an if statement to check if the runner's age is less than min_age. If yes, use continue to skip to the next runner.

C++

#include 
#include 

struct Runner {
    std::string name;
    int age;
};

Runner runners[] = {
    {"Alice", 17},
    {"Bob", 20},
    {"Charlie", 16},
    {"Diana", 22}
};

int min_age = 18;

// Use a for loop to iterate over runners
// Use if and continue to skip runners younger than min_age
// Your code here

Hint

Use a for loop with index i from 0 to 3. Inside, check age and use continue to skip underage runners.

4

Print the names of adult runners

Inside the for loop, after the continue statement, add a std::cout statement to print the runner's name followed by a newline.

C++

#include 
#include 

struct Runner {
    std::string name;
    int age;
};

Runner runners[] = {
    {"Alice", 17},
    {"Bob", 20},
    {"Charlie", 16},
    {"Diana", 22}
};

int min_age = 18;

for (int i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
    if (runners[i].age < min_age) {
        continue;
    }
    // Print runner's name
    // Your code here
}

Hint

Use std::cout << runners[i].name << std::endl; to print the name of each adult runner.

Practice

1. What does the continue statement do inside a loop in C++?

easy

A. It stops the entire loop immediately.

B. It skips the rest of the current loop iteration and moves to the next iteration.

C. It exits the current function.

D. It restarts the program from the beginning.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the role of continue in loops

   The continue statement tells the program to skip the remaining code in the current loop cycle.

2. Step 2: Identify what happens after continue

   After skipping, the loop moves to the next iteration immediately without executing the rest of the loop body.

3. Final Answer:

   It skips the rest of the current loop iteration and moves to the next iteration. -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Continue skips current iteration [OK]

Hint: Continue skips current loop step, not whole loop [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking continue stops the loop completely
• Confusing continue with break
• Assuming continue exits the function

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to use continue inside a for loop in C++?

easy

A. continue;

B. continue()

C. continue{}

D. continue[]

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall the syntax of continue in C++

   The continue statement is a keyword and used alone followed by a semicolon.

2. Step 2: Check each option's syntax

   Only continue; is valid. The others use parentheses or braces which are incorrect.

3. Final Answer:

   continue; -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Continue ends with semicolon [OK]

Hint: Continue is a keyword, ends with semicolon [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Adding parentheses after continue
• Using braces or brackets with continue
• Omitting the semicolon

3. What will be the output of the following C++ code?

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

medium

A. 1 2 3 4 5

B. 1 2 3 4

C. 1 2 4 5

D. 2 3 4 5

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze the loop and condition

   The loop runs from 1 to 5. When i == 3, the continue skips printing.

2. Step 2: Determine printed values

   Numbers 1 and 2 print normally. At 3, continue skips printing. Then 4 and 5 print.

3. Final Answer:

   1 2 4 5 -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Skip 3, print others [OK]

Hint: Continue skips printing 3, others print [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Including 3 in output
• Stopping loop at 3
• Printing numbers after 3 incorrectly

4. Identify the error in the following C++ code snippet:

for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
    if (i == 2)
        continue
    std::cout << i << " ";
}

medium

A. No error in the code.

B. Incorrect loop condition.

C. Wrong variable type for i.

D. Missing semicolon after continue statement.

Solution

1. Step 1: Check syntax of continue statement

   The continue statement must end with a semicolon.

2. Step 2: Identify missing semicolon

   In the code, continue is not followed by a semicolon, causing a syntax error.

3. Final Answer:

   Missing semicolon after continue statement. -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Continue needs semicolon [OK]

Hint: Always put semicolon after continue [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Forgetting semicolon after continue
• Assuming continue needs parentheses
• Misreading loop condition as error

5. Consider the following code that sums numbers from 1 to 10 but skips multiples of 3 using continue. What is the final sum?

int sum = 0;
for (int i = 1; i <= 10; i++) {
    if (i % 3 == 0) continue;
    sum += i;
}
std::cout << sum;

hard

A. 52

B. 55

C. 45

D. 50

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify numbers skipped by continue

   Numbers divisible by 3 (3, 6, 9) are skipped and not added to sum.

2. Step 2: Calculate sum of numbers 1 to 10 excluding 3, 6, 9

   Sum 1+2+4+5+7+8+10 = 37 + 15 = 52

3. Final Answer:

   52 -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Sum excluding multiples of 3 = 52 [OK]

Hint: Skip multiples of 3, sum others [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Including multiples of 3 in sum
• Adding all numbers 1 to 10
• Misunderstanding continue effect