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Practice

Loop Controls (break, continue, pass)

Loops let us repeat code, but sometimes we need more control. What if you want to exit a loop early, skip part of it, or leave space for future logic?

Python provides three helpful keywords: break, continue, and pass.

Let's go through each of them with examples.


1. break: Stop the Loop Immediately

Use break when you want to exit the loop entirely, regardless of how many items remain.

Break Loop
for number in range(1, 10):
if number == 5:
break
print("Number:", number)
  • This loop prints numbers from 1 to 9.
  • When number == 5, it hits break and exits the loop.
  • Output is: 1, 2, 3, 4

2. continue: Skip the Current Step

Use continue when you want to skip one iteration and continue to the next one.

Continue Loop
for number in range(1, 6):
if number == 3:
continue
print("Number:", number)
  • This skips number == 3 but keeps looping.
  • Output is: 1, 2, 4, 5

3. pass: Placeholder That Does Nothing

pass is used when you need a block of code syntactically, but you don’t want to add logic yet.

Pass Loop
for letter in "data":
if letter == "t":
pass
print("Letter:", letter)
  • When letter == "t", the program does nothing and continues to the next iteration.
  • This serves as a placeholder for future logic.

Summary

KeywordWhat It Does
breakExits the loop completely
continueSkips to the next iteration
passDoes nothing (acts as placeholder)

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