Loop StatementsS2C Home « Loop Statements

In this lesson we look at the loop statements available in Java. Loop statements allow us to iterate over some code multiple times. There are two loop statements in Java, the for construct and the while construct.

The for Statement Top

The for statement will loop through a section of code a set number of times. The for statement is very versatile and has two different variations known commonly as the for loop and the enhanced for loop.

The for loop contains three parts. In the first part we initialize a counter variable with a value, this only happens on initial entry to the for loop. The second part is a condition which tests the variable value at the start of each loop and if the condition is no longer true the for loop is exited. The final part of the for statement is an expression to be evaluated at the end of each iteration of the loop. This normally takes the form of a counter that is decremented or incremented.

The enchanced for loop was introduced in java and implements a for-each style loop that iterates through a collection of objects in a sequential order from start to finish.

The following table shows the different forms of the for construct that can be used. We are using blocks of code to wrap statements which is optional when using a single statement, but good practice and will be used here.

We will go through the different forms of the for construct one at a time, using some code to make understanding of the above table easier.

The for Construct and break Top

The for construct will loop through a section of code a set number of times dependant upon the components set for the loop and their values. Lets look at some code to illustrate how this works:

/*
  for Construct
*/ 
public class UsingFor {

    public static void main (String[] args) {
       for (int i=1; i<13; i++) {
           System.out.println("The square of " + i + " = " + i*i);
       }
       for (int i=1; i<13; i++) {
           // Using a break to exit loop
           if (i == 6) { break; }
           System.out.println("The square of " + i + " = " + i*i);
       }
    }
}

Save, compile and run the file in directory   c:\_Beginningjava in the usual way.

In the first loop what we are doing here is using the control variable (i) and squaring it for the output while it is less than 13. After each iteration we increment the control variable by 1. In the second loop we break from the loop when the control variable (i) reaches 6. The break statement forces an exit from the loop immediately. Did you notice also that we use the variable i twice with no problem. This is because this variable is created and exists only as long as the scope it was created in, in this case the for construct. Take a look at the Method Scope lesson for a refresher on local variable scope.

Using A Nested for Construct and break Top

We can also nest the for construct within another for construct (or any other construct for that matter). Lets look at examples of this:

/*
  Nested for Construct
*/ 
public class NestedFor {

    public static void main (String[] args) {
	for (int i=1; i<11; i++) {
            System.out.println("\nThe " + i + " times table: ");
	    for (int j=1; j<11; j++) {
                System.out.print(j + "*" + i + "=" + j*i + ": ");
            }
        }
	for (int i=1; i<11; i++) {
            System.out.println("\nThe " + i + " times table: ");
	    for (int j=1; j<11; j++) {
           	// Using a break to exit inner loop
           	if (j == 4) { break; }
                System.out.print(j + "*" + i + "=" + j*i + ": ");
            }
        }
    }
}

Save, compile and run the file in directory   c:\_Beginningjava in the usual way.

What we are doing here is running a loop within a loop to print off times tables up to 10. So the inner for loop runs 10 times for each outer for loop iteration. In the second example we break from the inner loop during the fourth iteration. This is just to show that using the break statement forces an exit from the loop you are in not any outer loops.

Using the continue Statement Top

We can also use the continue statement within any loop construct. For a for construct, the continue statement will stop this iteration of the loop and continue at the start of the next iteration. Lets look at an example of this:

/*
  Using continue in a for Construct
*/ 
public class UsingForContinue {

    public static void main (String[] args) {
       for (int i=1; i<13; i++) {
           // Using a continue to force an iteration
           if ((i%2) == 0) { continue; }
           System.out.println("The square of " + i + " = " + i*i);
       }
    }
}

Save, compile and run the file in directory   c:\_Beginningjava in the usual way.

In this variation we are checking to see if the control variable (i) leaves no remainder. If this is the case we are forcing a continue to the next iteration. For this example it means we are only printing out odd squares within the specified range.

Using the break to a labelled Statement Top

We saw how the break statement worked with the for construct in earlier examples. There is a variation where we can break to a label statement. Breaking to a labelled statement causes program execution to resume after the labelled block. Lets look at examples of this:

/*
  Using break to a label in a for Construct
*/ 
public class UsingLabelBreak {

    public static void main (String[] args) {
	label1:
	for (int i=1; i<11; i++) {
            System.out.println("\nThe " + i + " times table: ");
	    for (int j=1; j<11; j++) {
           	// Using a break to label to exit loop
           	if (j == 4) { break label1; }
                System.out.print(j + "*" + i + "=" + j*i + ": ");
            }
        }
        System.out.println("\n\n****");
	for (int i=1; i<11; i++) {
            System.out.println("\nThe " + i + " times table: ");
            label2:
	    for (int j=1; j<11; j++) {
           	// Using a break to label to exit loop
           	if (j == 4) { break label2; }
                System.out.print(j + "*" + i + "=" + j*i + ": ");
            }
        }
    }
}

Save, compile and run the file in directory   c:\_Beginningjava in the usual way.

In the first loop above we break to the label1: label, which results in processing continuing after the outer loop. So in reality we have broken out of both loops. In the second example we break to the label2: label, which breaks us out of the inner loop only. So processing will continue with the next iteration of the outer loop. So when using the label statement with the break statement positioning matters.

The enhanced for Construct Top

The enhanced for construct will loop through each element within a collection. Lets look at some code to illustrate how this works:

/*
  enhanced for Construct
*/ 
public class EnhancedFor {

    public static void main (String[] args) {
	int [] anArray = {22,33,44,55}; 
	for (int i : anArray) {
            System.out.println("Array element = " + i);
        }
    }
}

Save, compile and run the file in directory   c:\_Beginningjava in the usual way.

What we are doing here is creating an array collection of numbers; we will expand on arrays in the Arrays lesson. We then use the enhanced for construct to iterate over the array collection.

The while Statement Top

The while statement can be used to loop through a section of code while a condition remains true. The while statement has two different variations known commonly as the while loop and the do-while loop.

The following table shows the different forms of the while construct that can be used. We are using blocks of code to wrap statements which is optional when using a single statement, but good practice and will be used here.

We will go through the different forms of the while construct one at a time, using some code to make understanding of the above table easier.

The while Construct and break Top

The while construct will loop through a section of code while a condition remains true. Lets look at some code to illustrate how this works:

/*
  while Construct
*/ 
public class UsingWhile {

    public static void main (String[] args) {
       int i = 1;
       while (i < 13) {
           System.out.println("The square of " + i + " = " + i*i);
           i++;
       }
       i = 1;
       while (i < 13) {
           // Using a break to exit loop
           if (i == 6) { break; }
           System.out.println("The square of " + i + " = " + i*i);
           i++;
       }
    }
}

Save, compile and run the file in directory   c:\_Beginningjava in the usual way.

In the first loop what we are doing here is using the control variable (i) and squaring it for the output while it is less than 13. We increment the control variable by 1 just before exiting the while loop each time. In the second loop we break from the loop when the control variable (i) reaches 6. The break statement forces an exit from the loop immediately.

Using a Nested while Construct and break Top

We can also nest the while construct within another while construct (or any other construct for that matter). Lets look at examples of this:

/*
  Nested while Construct
*/ 
public class NestedWhile {

    public static void main (String[] args) {
        int i = 1;
	while (i < 11) {
            System.out.println("\nThe " + i + " times table: ");
            int j = 1;
	    while (j < 11) {
                System.out.print(j + "*" + i + "=" + j*i + ": ");
                j++;
            }
            i++;
        }
        i = 1;
	while (i < 11) {
            System.out.println("\nThe " + i + " times table: ");
            int j = 1;
	    while (j < 11) {
           	// Using a break to exit inner loop
           	if (j == 4) { break; }
                System.out.print(j + "*" + i + "=" + j*i + ": ");
                j++;
            }
            i++;
        }
    }
}

Save, compile and run the file in directory   c:\_Beginningjava in the usual way.

What we are doing here is running a loop within a loop to print off times tables up to 10. So the inner while loop runs 10 times for each outer while loop iteration. In the second example we break from the inner loop during the fourth iteration. This is just to show that using the break statement forces an exit from the loop you are in not any outer loops.

Using the continue Statement Top

For a while construct, the continue statement will pass control back to the start of the loop immediately. Lets look at an example of this:

/*
  Using continue in a while Construct
*/ 
public class UsingWhileContinue {

    public static void main (String[] args) {
       int i = 1;
       while (i < 13) {
           // Using a continue to force an iteration
           if ((i%2) == 0) { i++; continue; }
           System.out.println("The square of " + i + " = " + i*i);
           i++;
       }
    }
}

Save, compile and run the file in directory   c:\_Beginningjava in the usual way.

In this variation we are checking to see if the control variable (i) leaves no remainder. If this is the case we are forcing a continue to the next iteration. For this example it means we are only printing out odd squares within the specified range. If you notice when we hit this condition we have to increment our control variable before passing control back to the top of the loop. Unlike the for construct, the while has no auto increment and hence if we do not increment, we end up in an infinite loop situation.

Using the break to a labelled Statement Top

We saw how the break statement worked with the while construct in earlier examples. There is a variation where we can break to a label statement. Breaking to a labelled statement causes program execution to resume after the labelled block. Lets look at examples of this:

/*
  Using break to a label in a while Construct
*/ 
public class UsingWhileLabelBreak {

    public static void main (String[] args) {
	int i = 1, j = 1;
	label1:
	while (i<11) {
            System.out.println("\nThe " + i + " times table: ");
	    j = 1;
	    while (j<11) {
           	// Using a break to label, to exit outer loop
           	if (j == 4) { i++; break label1; }
                System.out.print(j + "*" + i + "=" + j*i + ": ");
                j++;
            }
            i++;
        }
        System.out.println("\n\n****");
	i = 1;
	while (i<11) {
            System.out.println("\nThe " + i + " times table: ");
	    j = 1;
            label2:
	    while (j<11) {
           	// Using a break to label, to exit inner loop
           	if (j == 4) {  j++; break label2; }
                System.out.print(j + "*" + i + "=" + j*i + ": ");
                j++;
            }
            i++;
        }
    }
}

Save, compile and run the file in directory   c:\_Beginningjava in the usual way.

In the first loop above we break to the label1: label, which results in processing continuing after the outer loop. So in reality we have broken out of both loops. In the second example we break to the label2: label, which breaks us out of the inner loop only. So processing will continue with the next iteration of the outer loop. So when using the label statement with the break statement positioning matters.

The do while Construct Top

The do while construct will loop through a section of code while a condition remains true. Because the statement body is executed before the condition is tested the do while construct will always execute at least once. Lets look at some code to illustrate how this works:

/*
  do while Construct
*/ 
public class UsingDoWhile {

    public static void main (String[] args) {
       int i = 13;
       while (i < 13) {
           System.out.println("WHILE. The square of " + i + " = " + i*i);
           i++;
       }
       do {
           System.out.println("DO WHILE. The square of " + i + " = " + i*i);
           i++;
       } while (i < 13);
    }
}

Save, compile and run the file in directory   c:\_Beginningjava in the usual way.

In the while loop the control expression returns false and so the loop never runs. In the do while loop the control expression still returns false but the loop is always guaranteed to execute at least once, which is what happens in this case.

Apart from this the do while behaves exactly the same as a normal while loop and can use the break, continue and label statements in the same way.

Lesson 8 Complete

In this lesson we investigated the loop statements available for use in java.

What's Next?

We begin a new section about objects and classes and start the section with a look at arrays.

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