In Python, “break”, “continue”, and “return” are used in loops to control the flow of code execution. and a lot of students create unnecessary confusion in their minds and you are one of those then this article is for you. In this article, I have explained it very simple way with an example. wanted to strengthen your concept just investing 4-5 minutes to read this? Go Ahead.
Break Statement
“break” is used to terminate a loop prematurely. It immediately exits the loop and continues with the next statement after the loop.
Example:
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]
for num in numbers:
if num == 5:
break
print(num)Output:
1
2
3
4
In the above example, the loop iterates through the list of numbers, but it terminates as soon as it reaches the number 5. Therefore, the output only shows the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4.
Continue Statement
Example:
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]
for num in numbers:
if num == 5:
continue
print(num)Output:
1
2
3
4
6
7
8
In the above example, the loop iterates through the list of numbers, but it skips over the number 5 and moves on to the next iteration. Therefore, the output does not show the number 5.
Return Statement
The “return” statement is used to exit a function and return a value. When a return statement is executed, it immediately stops the execution of the function and sends a result back to the caller of the function.
Example:
def square(x):
if x < 0:
return None
return x**2
print(square(5))
print(square(-5))Output:
25
None
In the above example, the “square” function returns the square of a number, but it returns “None” if the input is negative. When the function returns “None”, it immediately exits the function and does not execute any code after the “return” statement.