Break and continue behavior in Kotlin - Step-by-Step Execution

Concept Flow - Break and continue behavior

Start loop

↓

Check condition

Yes↓

Inside loop body

↓

If 'continue' condition?

Yes→Skip rest, next iteration

↓

If 'break' condition?

Yes→Exit loop

↓

Execute remaining code

↓

Next iteration

↓

Condition false

→Exit loop

The loop starts and checks its condition. Inside, if 'continue' is met, it skips to the next iteration. If 'break' is met, it exits the loop immediately. Otherwise, it runs the rest of the loop body.

Execution Sample

Kotlin

for (i in 1..5) {
    if (i == 3) continue
    if (i == 4) break
    println(i)
}

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	Print 1
2	2	false	No continue	false	No break	Print 2
3	3	true	Continue (skip print)	N/A	N/A
4	4	false	No continue	true	Break (exit loop)
-	-	-	-	-	-	Loop ends

💡 At iteration 4, break condition is true, so loop exits immediately.

Variable Tracker

Variable	Start	After 1	After 2	After 3	After 4	Final
i	-	1	2	3	4	-

Key Moments - 2 Insights

Why does the number 3 not get printed even though the loop reaches it?

Because at iteration 3, the 'continue' condition is true (i == 3), so the loop skips the print statement and moves to the next iteration, as shown in row 3 of the execution_table.

Why does the loop stop completely at number 4?

At iteration 4, the 'break' condition is true (i == 4), so the loop exits immediately without printing 4 or continuing further, as shown in row 4 of the execution_table.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution_table, what is the value of 'i' when the loop skips printing?

A 2

B 3

C 4

D 1

💡 Hint

Check the row where 'Action' says 'Continue (skip print)' in the execution_table.

At which iteration does the loop exit due to 'break'?

A 4

B 3

C 2

D 5

💡 Hint

Look for the row where 'Action' says 'Break (exit loop)' in the execution_table.

If we remove the 'continue' statement, what will be printed at iteration 3?

A Nothing, loop skips iteration 3

B Loop will break at 3

C 3 will be printed

D Error occurs

💡 Hint

Refer to the variable_tracker and execution_table to see what happens when 'continue' is not triggered.

Concept Snapshot

Kotlin 'break' exits the loop immediately.
'continue' skips the rest of the current iteration.
Use 'break' to stop looping early.
Use 'continue' to skip specific steps.
Both control loop flow inside loops.

Full Transcript

This example shows a Kotlin for-loop from 1 to 5. At each iteration, it checks if the current number is 3 or 4. If it is 3, the loop uses 'continue' to skip printing and moves to the next number. If it is 4, the loop uses 'break' to stop completely. The output prints 1 and 2 only. The variable 'i' changes each iteration from 1 to 4, then the loop ends. This teaches how 'break' and 'continue' control loop behavior by skipping or stopping iterations.

Practice

1. What does the break statement do inside a Kotlin loop?

easy

A. Stops the entire loop immediately

B. Skips the current iteration and continues the loop

C. Restarts the loop from the beginning

D. Pauses the loop until a condition is met

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the role of break

   The break statement immediately stops the whole loop when executed.

2. Step 2: Compare with other loop controls

   Unlike continue, which skips only the current step, break ends the loop fully.

3. Final Answer:

   Stops the entire loop immediately -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   break stops loop = B [OK]

Hint: Remember: break = stop loop, continue = skip step [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing break with continue
• Thinking break skips only one iteration
• Assuming break restarts the loop

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to skip the current iteration in a Kotlin for loop?

easy

A. continue

B. break

C. skip

D. stop

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the keyword to skip iteration

   In Kotlin, continue is used to skip the current loop iteration and move to the next.

2. Step 2: Check other options for correctness

   break stops the loop, skip and stop are not valid Kotlin keywords.

3. Final Answer:

   continue -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Skip iteration = continue [OK]

Hint: Use continue to skip steps inside loops [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using break instead of continue
• Using non-existent keywords like skip or stop
• Confusing syntax with other languages

3. What will be the output of this Kotlin code?

for (i in 1..5) {
    if (i == 3) break
    print(i)
}

medium

A. Error

B. 12345

C. 345

D. 12

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze the loop and break condition

   The loop runs from 1 to 5. When i equals 3, break stops the loop immediately.

2. Step 2: Determine printed values before break

   Values 1 and 2 are printed before hitting i == 3, then loop stops.

3. Final Answer:

   12 -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Loop stops at 3, prints 1 and 2 [OK]

Hint: Break stops loop before printing 3 [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming 3 is printed before break
• Thinking loop continues after break
• Confusing break with continue

4. Find the error in this Kotlin code snippet:

for (i in 1..5) {
    if (i == 3) continue
    if (i == 6) break
    print(i)
}

medium

A. The loop will run infinitely

B. continue cannot be used inside for loops

C. The break condition is unreachable

D. Syntax error in if statements

Solution

1. Step 1: Check loop range and conditions

   The loop runs from 1 to 5, so i == 6 never happens.

2. Step 2: Analyze break condition reachability

   Since i never reaches 6, the break statement is never executed, making it unreachable code.

3. Final Answer:

   The break condition is unreachable -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Break at i=6 unreachable in 1..5 loop [OK]

Hint: Check loop range matches break condition [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming break will run at i=6
• Thinking continue is invalid in loops
• Believing loop runs infinitely

5. Consider this Kotlin code:

var sum = 0
for (i in 1..10) {
    if (i % 2 == 0) continue
    if (sum > 10) break
    sum += i
}
print(sum)

What is the output?

hard

A. 25

B. 11

C. 9

D. 16

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand loop behavior with continue and break

   The loop adds only odd numbers (because even numbers are skipped by continue). It stops when sum > 10.

2. Step 2: Calculate sum step-by-step

   Odd numbers: 1,3,5,7,9
   i=1: sum=0 <=10, sum=1
   i=3: sum=1 <=10, sum=4
   i=5: sum=4 <=10, sum=9
   i=7: sum=9 <=10, sum=16
   i=9: sum=16 >10, break (no add 9).

3. Final Answer:

   11 -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Sum odd numbers until sum > 10 = 11 [OK]

Hint: Add odds, stop when sum exceeds 10 [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Adding even numbers mistakenly
• Breaking before sum exceeds 10
• Miscounting sum steps