C# - Continue

 Continue statement in C#

The continue statement in C# is used to skip the remaining statements in the current iteration of a loop and immediately proceed to the next iteration. It works in loops such as for, while, do-while, and foreach.

Use Cases of continue

1. In for Loops The continue statement skips the rest of the loop body and proceeds with the next iteration.

Example:

for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
{
    if (i % 2 == 0) // Skip even numbers
    {
        continue;
    }
    Console.WriteLine(i);
}

Output

1
3
5
7
9

Explanation:

When i % 2 == 0, the continue statement skips the Console.WriteLine(i) and moves to the next iteration.

2.In while Loops The continue statement skips to the next iteration by reevaluating the loop condition.

int i = 0;

while (i < 10)
{
    i++;
    if (i % 2 == 0) // Skip even numbers
    {
        continue;
    }
    Console.WriteLine(i);
}

1
3
5
7
9

3.In do-while Loops The continue statement skips the remaining code in the loop body and reevaluates the condition.

int i = 0;

do
{
    i++;
    if (i == 5) // Skip when i equals 5
    {
        continue;
    }
    Console.WriteLine(i);
} while (i < 10);

1
2
3
4
6
7
8
9
10

4.In foreach Loops The continue statement skips the rest of the current iteration and moves to the next item in the collection.

string[] names = { "Alice", "Bob", "Charlie", "David" };

foreach (var name in names)
{
    if (name.StartsWith("C")) // Skip names starting with 'C'
    {
        continue;
    }
    Console.WriteLine(name);
}

Alice
Bob
David

Key Points

1. Skip Current Iteration:

• continue only affects the current iteration.
• The loop's next iteration starts immediately after continue.

2. Works in Loops Only:

• continue cannot be used outside loops. It will result in a compilation error.

3. Difference Between break and continue:

break exits the loop entirely.

• continue skips the rest of the current iteration and moves to the next iteration.

Example 

for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++)
{
    if (i == 3)
    {
        break; // Exit the loop when i equals 3
    }
    Console.WriteLine(i);
}
// Output: 0, 1, 2

for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++)
{
    if (i == 3)
    {
        continue; // Skip iteration when i equals 3
    }
    Console.WriteLine(i);
}
// Output: 0, 1, 2, 4

Common Use Cases

• Filter out specific values in loops: Skip processing for specific items in a collection.
• Improve performance: Avoid unnecessary computations when conditions are not met.
• Conditional execution: Handle only cases of interest and skip others.