Understanding the Python break Statement: Usage and Examples

With the break statement we can stop the loop before it has looped through all the items. Jump Statements Python offers two jump statements-break and continue to be used within loops to jump out of loop iterations.

• break statement It terminates the loop it lies within. It skips the rest of the loop and jumps over to the statement following the loop.
• continue statement Unlike break statement, the continue statement forces the next iteration of the loop to take place, skipping any code in between.

Loop with break condition at the top

This is a normal while loop without break statements. The condition of the while loop is at the top and the loop terminates when this condition is False.

Flowchart of Loop With break Condition at Top

# Break in top

name = ["atnyla", "python", "code"]
for x in name:
  if x == "python":
    break
  print(x) 
  print("Body after break")

Output

atnyla
Body after break

Loop with break condition in the middle

This kind of loop can be implemented using an infinite loop along with a conditional break in between the body of the loop.

Flowchart of Loop with Condition in Middle

Exit the loop when x  is "python":

Code

# Break in middle

name = ["atnyla", "python", "code"]
for x in name:
  print("Body before break")
  if x == "python":
    break
  print(x)
  print("Body after break")

Output:

Body before break
atnyla
Body after break
Body before break

Loop with break condition at the bottom

This kind of loop ensures that the body of the loop is executed at least once. It can be implemented using an infinite loop along with a conditional break at the end. This is similar to the do...while loop in C.

Flowchart of Loop with break Condition at Bottom

# Break in Bottom

name = ["atnyla", "python", "code"]
for x in name:
  print(x) 
  print("Body before break")
  if x == "python":
    break

Output

atnyla
Body before break
python
Body before break