Difference between break and continue statement in C

The break and continue statements in C are used to alter the flow of a loop. They are used in different scenarios based on the requirements of the loop.

1. Break Statement:

   • The break statement is used to terminate the loop prematurely when a certain condition is met.
   • When a break statement is encountered inside a loop, the loop is immediately terminated and the program control resumes at the next statement following the loop.
   • It can be used in switch, while, for, and do-while loops.
   • For example, if you want to come out of the loop as soon as a specific element is found in an array, you can use the break statement to come out of the loop.

2. Continue Statement:

   • The continue statement is used to skip the rest of the code inside the current iteration and immediately jump to the next iteration of the loop.
   • It does not terminate the loop; instead, it just skips the current iteration and the loop continues with the next iteration.
   • It can be used in while, for, and do-while loops.
   • For example, if you want to skip a specific element in an array and continue with the rest of the elements, you can use the continue statement.

In summary, the break statement is used to exit the loop entirely and move to the next statement after the loop, while the continue statement is used to skip the current iteration and move to the next iteration in the loop.