Thread: Continue and break statements

Code then description of problem:

class Weather 
{
	public static void main(String[] args) 
	{
	// declare variables
	int i = 1; // represents year
	double temp = 0.0;
	final double ANNUAL_INCREASE = 1.0;
	double uncertainty = 0.0;
	String result = " ";
	System.out.println(" Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec");
 
	while(true)
	{
	if (i > 5) break;
	else if (i == 3) continue;
	System.out.println(i);
	i++;
	}
 
	}
}

So part of my assignment is to loop though my variable for year (named i) from 1 through 5. Then skip through once "i" has the value of 3, and continue on afterwards. The code above compiles and displays this output:

 Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1
2

It stops and leaves 3 as an empty blinking line inside of my terminal. Switching the break and continue statements around like this:

while(true)
	{
	if (i == 3) continue;
	else if (i > 5) break;
	System.out.println(i);
	i++;
	}

gives me the same result as the first code. It was my understanding that the break statement is essentially a loops stopping point, and continue carries on to the next iteration without terminating the loop.


This code below gives me the nearly desired result:

while(true)
	{
	if (i > 5) break;
	System.out.println(i);
	i++;
	}

It prints out like this:

1
2
3
4
5

So that makes me know that the stopping point is at least correct. The confusion comes when trying to skip over once (i == 3).
The only time i was instructed to use the continue statement was inside of a for loop like this:

for (int i = 0 ; i <= 5 ; i++)
{
	if (i == 3) continue;
	System.out.println("I = " + i);
}

Which gives me the perfect output (1, 2, 4, 5). I'm hoping this is just a syntax thing rather than a misunderstanding on my end for combining a continue/break statement.

Any help towards the solution is appreciated

One wonders why you just didn't program it as:

while( i < 6 )
{
	if (i != 3)
	{
		System.out.println(i);
	}
	i++;
}

"Using a while(true) statement, loop over Year i from 1 through 5, EXCEPT i = 3. Use a break statement to exit the loop as appropriate. When i = 3, it should skip the calculations and go the next iteration, so use a continue statement for that."

I agree, my courses are online and it' s more difficult to follow along i guess, but that's how i was instructed to do it, points get deducted if i don't do the assignment "as written"

Okay, the requirement wasn't clear.

In either of your original while( true ) loops, when will the index, i, be incremented?

Well, after the println, it's what worked in the final while(true) loop. I tried rearranging everything in the loop like this:

while(true)
	{
	System.out.println(i);
	if (i > 5) break;
	else if (i == 3) continue;
	i++;
	}

That sends the code into an infinite loop at 3, which isn't ideal especially that what's being printed is the number 3 (the one number i don't want haha). Lastly, in my notes for the continue statement,it seems the continue statement simply skips over to the next part of the code like this:

for (int i = 0 ; i < = 5 ; i++)
{
	if (i == 3) continue;
	System.out.println("I = " + i);
}

"When i == 3, continue on to the next part"

I think that means you haven't figured it out. The path to a solution is understanding or finding the answer to the question I asked. You seem to have figured it out, at least you have experienced what happens if the continue; statement occurs BEFORE the i++: an infinite while( true ) loop occurs. So, what must you do to ensure the while ( true ) loop doesn't become inescapable when i == 3? There are a number of possible solutions, but they may all be different versions that reorder the statements you have.

And the if/else construct isn't necessary. I think it's clearer without the if/else, but that may just be me.

OK, I'll give understanding your post a solid effort before i report back. Just scratching my head how a while(true) statement would be formatted without the if-else statements. I am still quite new, so i over think just about everything.

OK, i'm really close i think. I got the code to compile and display the desired output, only problem is that in the assignment it requires me to declare a variable of type int, name it i and set it with a value of 1. The only way i could get it to compile and display what i wanted was to set the value of i to 0.

class Weather 
{
	public static void main(String[] args) 
	{
	// declare variables
	int i = 0; // represents year
	double temp = 0.0;
	final double ANNUAL_INCREASE = 1.0;
	double uncertainty = 0.0;
	String result = " ";
	System.out.println(" Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec");
 
	while(true)
	{
	if (i >= 5) break;
	i++;
	if (i == 3) continue;
	System.out.println(i);
	}
 
	}
}

This code does exactly what i want, but is not written in a way that i was instructed. When i set the value to 1 (as instructed) it prints out 2, 4 and 5. Even if i put the print statement before the if statements it prints 2, and that doesn't make sense since i shouldn't = 2 until after it loops once.

Are you interpreting the instructions in post #3 as requiring i to be initialized to 1, or do you have other instructions that specifically say i must be initialized to 1? If the former, I don't agree with your interpretation. If the latter, I'll have to think on it some more in the morning.

Yes, prior instructions stated that i be initialized to 1. I'm just leaving it for the moment, the whole rest of the assignment is a freaking mess as well.

Then it seems the only way to satisfy all of the requirements you've been given is to add an i++ statement to be executed before the continue statement, like:

if (i == 3)
{
	i++;
	continue;
}

Then you can move the i++ in the while loop to after the print statement so that i can be initialized to 1 for the first pass through the while loop.

Here's what i got to work:

public class Test 
{
	public static void main(String[] args) {
	int i = 1;
 
	while(true)
	{
	if (i > 5) break;
        if (i == 3)
        {
               i++;
              continue;
         }
	System.out.println(i);
	i++;
	}
 
 
	 }
}