Next and break statements in R Programming - Step-by-Step Execution

Concept Flow - Next and break statements

Start Loop

↓

Check Condition

Yes↓

Inside Loop

↓

Next?

↓

Skip Rest

Back to Condition↓

End Loop

↩Back to Condition

The loop starts and checks the condition. Inside the loop, if 'next' is triggered, it skips to the next iteration. If 'break' is triggered, it exits the loop immediately.

Execution Sample

R Programming

for(i in 1:5) {
  if(i == 2) next
  if(i == 4) break
  print(i)
}

This loop prints numbers 1 to 5 but skips 2 and stops before printing 4.

Execution Table

Iteration	i	Condition i==2	Action	Output
1	1	False	print(1)	1
2	2	True	next (skip print)
3	3	False	print(3)	3
4	4	False	break (exit loop)
-	-	-	-	Loop ends, no more iterations

💡 At iteration 4, break is triggered, so the loop stops immediately.

Variable Tracker

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

Key Moments - 2 Insights

Why does the loop skip printing when i equals 2?

Because at iteration 2, the condition i==2 is True, so 'next' is executed which skips the rest of the loop body including print, as shown in execution_table row 2.

Why does the loop stop before printing 4?

At iteration 4, the condition i==4 is True, so 'break' is executed which immediately exits the loop, stopping any further iterations or printing, as shown in execution_table row 4.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution table, what is the value of i when the loop skips printing?

A 4

B 2

C 3

D 1

💡 Hint

Check the 'Action' column where 'next' is triggered and see the corresponding 'i' value.

At which iteration does the loop stop executing?

A 4

B 3

C 5

D 2

💡 Hint

Look for the 'break' action in the execution_table and note the iteration number.

If we remove the 'next' statement, what will be printed?

A 1, 2, 3, 4

B 1, 3

C 1, 2, 3

D 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

💡 Hint

Without 'next', the loop will print all numbers until 'break' stops it at 4, so 1, 2, 3 will print.

Concept Snapshot

for(i in 1:n) {
  if(condition) next  # skips to next iteration
  if(condition) break # exits loop immediately
  # code here runs only if no next or break
}
Use 'next' to skip, 'break' to stop loop early.

Full Transcript

This example shows how 'next' and 'break' work inside a loop in R. The loop runs from 1 to 5. When i equals 2, 'next' skips printing 2 and moves to the next iteration. When i equals 4, 'break' stops the loop completely, so 4 and 5 are not printed. Variables change each iteration, and the loop flow depends on these statements to skip or stop early.