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Control statements#

Code Example

Runnable Example in Jac and JacLib

# Control Statements

with entry {
    # Break - exits loop
    for i in range(10) {
        if i > 3 {
            break;
        }
        print(i);
    }

    # Continue - skips to next iteration
    for j in range(5) {
        if j == 2 {
            continue;
        }
        print(j);
    }

    # Break in while loop
    count = 0;
    while True {
        count += 1;
        if count > 3 {
            break;
        }
        print(count);
    }

    # Continue in while loop
    n = 0;
    while n < 5 {
        n += 1;
        if n % 2 == 0 {
            continue;
        }
        print(n);
    }

    # Skip (Jac-specific, used in walker contexts)
    walker SkipWalker {
        can process with entry {
            skip;
        }
    }

    # Nested loops with break
    for x in range(3) {
        for y in range(3) {
            if x == y == 1 {
                break;
            }
            print(f"{x},{y}");
        }
    }

    # Nested loops with continue
    for a in range(3) {
        for b in range(3) {
            if a == b {
                continue;
            }
            print(f"{a},{b}");
        }
    }
}

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# Control Statements

with entry {
    # Break - exits loop
    for i in range(10) {
        if i > 3 {
            break;
        }
        print(i);
    }

    # Continue - skips to next iteration
    for j in range(5) {
        if j == 2 {
            continue;
        }
        print(j);
    }

    # Break in while loop
    count = 0;
    while True {
        count += 1;
        if count > 3 {
            break;
        }
        print(count);
    }

    # Continue in while loop
    n = 0;
    while n < 5 {
        n += 1;
        if n % 2 == 0 {
            continue;
        }
        print(n);
    }

    # Skip (Jac-specific, used in walker contexts)
    walker SkipWalker {
        can process with entry {
            skip;
        }
    }

    # Nested loops with break
    for x in range(3) {
        for y in range(3) {
            if x == y == 1 {
                break;
            }
            print(f"{x},{y}");
        }
    }

    # Nested loops with continue
    for a in range(3) {
        for b in range(3) {
            if a == b {
                continue;
            }
            print(f"{a},{b}");
        }
    }
}

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from __future__ import annotations
from jaclang.lib import Walker, on_entry
for i in range(10):
    if i > 3:
        break
    print(i)
for j in range(5):
    if j == 2:
        continue
    print(j)
count = 0
while True:
    count += 1
    if count > 3:
        break
    print(count)
n = 0
while n < 5:
    n += 1
    if n % 2 == 0:
        continue
    print(n)

class SkipWalker(Walker):

    @on_entry
    def process(self, here) -> None:
        return
for x in range(3):
    for y in range(3):
        if x == y == 1:
            break
        print(f'{x},{y}')
for a in range(3):
    for b in range(3):
        if a == b:
            continue
        print(f'{a},{b}')
Jac Grammar Snippet 
218
ctrl_stmt: KW_SKIP | KW_BREAK | KW_CONTINUE

Description

Control Statements in Jac

Control statements alter the normal flow of execution within loops, providing mechanisms to exit early or skip iterations. Jac supports break, continue, and the walker-specific skip statement.

Control Statement Types

Statement Context Scope Effect
break Loops (for/while) Innermost loop Exit loop completely
continue Loops (for/while) Current iteration Skip to next iteration
skip Walker abilities Current node Skip node, continue traversal

Break Statement (Lines 4-10)

The break keyword immediately exits the innermost loop:

Lines 5-10: - Loop starts with i from 0 to 9 - Line 6: When i > 3 (i.e., when i=4), condition is true - Line 7: break executes, exiting the loop - Only 0, 1, 2, 3 are printed - Remaining iterations (4-9) never execute

Break Flow Diagram

graph TD
    A[Start loop] --> B{i > 3?}
    B -->|No| C[print i]
    C --> D[Next iteration]
    D --> B
    B -->|Yes| E[break]
    E --> F[Exit loop]

Continue Statement (Lines 12-18)

The continue keyword skips the rest of the current iteration and proceeds to the next:

Lines 13-18: - Loop iterates j from 0 to 4 - Line 14: When j == 2, condition is true - Line 15: continue skips to next iteration - Line 17: print(j) is skipped for j=2 - Output: 0, 1, 3, 4 (2 is skipped)

Continue Flow Diagram

graph TD
    A[Start iteration] --> B{j == 2?}
    B -->|No| C[print j]
    C --> D[End iteration]
    B -->|Yes| E[continue]
    E --> D
    D --> F{More items?}
    F -->|Yes| A
    F -->|No| G[Exit loop]

Break in While Loop (Lines 20-28)

Break works the same in while loops:

Lines 21-28: - Line 22: Infinite loop (while True) - Line 23: Increment counter - Line 24: When count exceeds 3, break executes - Prints: 1, 2, 3 - Without break, this would be an infinite loop

Continue in While Loop (Lines 30-38)

Continue skips iterations in while loops:

Lines 31-38: - Line 33: Increment n first (important!) - Line 34: If n is even, skip print - Line 37: Only odd numbers are printed - Output: 1, 3, 5

Skip Statement - Walker-Specific (Lines 40-45)

Line 41-44: - skip is used in walker contexts (not regular loops) - Stops processing current node - Walker continues to next queued node - Different from break (which exits loops) and disengage (which stops the walker)

Control Statements Comparison

Feature break continue skip
Exits loop Yes No N/A
Skips iteration Remaining iterations Current iteration Current node
Continues loop No Yes N/A
Walker-specific No No Yes
Affects outer loops No No No

Nested Loops with Break (Lines 47-55)

Lines 48-55: - Nested loops: outer (x) and inner (y) - Line 50: When x=1 and y=1, break executes - Break only exits inner loop, not outer loop - When x=1, prints (1,0) then breaks; outer loop continues with x=2

Break Scope Visualization

graph TD
    A[x=0] --> B[y: 0,1,2]
    B --> C[x=1]
    C --> D[y=0]
    D --> E{x==y==1?}
    E -->|No| D
    E -->|Yes| F[break inner loop]
    F --> G[x=2]
    G --> H[y: 0,1,2]

    style F fill:#c62828,stroke:#fff,color:#fff

Nested Loops with Continue (Lines 57-65)

Lines 58-65: - Line 60: When a equals b, skip that iteration - Continue only affects inner loop - Prints all pairs where a ≠ b - Output: (0,1), (0,2), (1,0), (1,2), (2,0), (2,1)

Common Patterns

Early exit on condition:

Filter during iteration:

Bounded loop:

Skip diagonal in matrix:

Best Practices

  1. Use break for early termination: When you've found what you need, exit the loop
  2. Use continue for filtering: Skip unwanted items instead of wrapping code in if statements
  3. Avoid deep nesting: Multiple levels of break/continue can be confusing
  4. Consider alternatives: Sometimes restructuring with functions is clearer
  5. Document intent: Comment why you're breaking or continuing

Break vs Return

Aspect break return
Exits loop Yes N/A
Exits function No Yes
Continues after Yes (after loop) No (leaves function)
Can return value No Yes

Loop Control Limitations

  1. Only affects innermost loop: Cannot break/continue outer loops directly
  2. No labeled breaks: Jac doesn't support labeled break statements
  3. Function boundaries: Cannot break/continue across function calls
  4. Walker context: Use skip for walker-specific control, not break/continue

When to Use Each

Use break when: - Search finds target - Error condition detected - Maximum iterations reached - Early termination improves performance

Use continue when: - Filtering items in a collection - Skipping invalid data - Processing only subset of items - Avoiding nested if statements

Use skip when: - Walker should skip current node - Node doesn't meet criteria - Avoiding duplicate processing - Conditional graph traversal