PHP Break & Continue Statements – Control Loop Execution
In PHP, the break and continue statements allow you to control the flow of loops. The break statement immediately exits a loop, while the continue statement skips the current iteration and proceeds to the next one.
🔹 PHP Break Statement
The break statement is used to terminate a loop when a certain condition is met.
📝 Example 1: Using Break in a For Loop
Here, the loop stops when $i equals 3.
<?php
for ($i = 1; $i <= 5; $i++) {
if ($i == 3) {
break; // Exits the loop when $i is 3
}
echo "Number: $i <br>";
}
?>
📝 Example 2: Using Break in a While Loop
The loop stops completely when $count reaches 4.
<?php
$count = 0;
while ($count < 6) {
$count++;
if ($count == 4) {
break; // Stops loop when $count is 4
}
echo "Count: $count <br>";
}
?>
🔹 PHP Continue Statement
The continue statement skips the current iteration and moves to the next one.
📝 Example 3: Using Continue in a For Loop
Here, the loop skips number 3 but continues execution.
<?php
for ($i = 1; $i <= 5; $i++) {
if ($i == 3) {
continue; // Skips iteration when $i is 3
}
echo "Number: $i <br>";
}
?>
📝 Example 4: Using Continue in a Foreach Loop
Skips "Cherry" while iterating through the array.
<?php
$fruits = array("Apple", "Banana", "Cherry", "Mango");
foreach ($fruits as $fruit) {
if ($fruit == "Cherry") {
continue; // Skips "Cherry"
}
echo "Fruit: $fruit <br>";
}
?>
🎯 Key Differences Between Break & Continue
break→ Completely stops the loop.continue→ Skips the current iteration and moves to the next one.
📝 Practice Time!
Modify the examples and experiment with different values to understand how break and continue work!