Control Flow Statements

The If-Then Statement

The if-then statement is the most basic of all the control flow statements. It tells your program to execute a certain section of code only if a particular test evaluates to true. For example, the Bicycle class could allow the brakes to decrease the bicycle's speed only if the bicycle is already in motion. One possible implementation of the applyBrakes() method could be as follows:

void applyBrakes() {
    // the "if" clause: bicycle must be moving
    if (isMoving){
        // the "then" clause: decrease current speed
        currentSpeed--;
    }
}

If this test evaluates to false (meaning that the bicycle is not in motion), control jumps to the end of the if-then statement.

In addition, the opening and closing braces are optional, provided that the "then" clause contains only one statement:

void applyBrakes() {
    // same as above, but without braces
    if (isMoving)
        currentSpeed--;
}

Deciding when to omit the braces is a matter of personal taste. Omitting them can make the code more brittle. If a second statement is later added to the "then" clause, a common mistake would be forgetting to add the newly required braces. The compiler cannot catch this sort of error; you will just get the wrong results.

The If-Then-Else Statement

The if-then-else statement provides a secondary path of execution when an "if" clause evaluates to false. You could use an if-then-else statement in the applyBrakes() method to take some action if the brakes are applied when the bicycle is not in motion. In this case, the action is to simply print an error message stating that the bicycle has already stopped.

void applyBrakes() {
    if (isMoving) {
        currentSpeed--;
    } else {
        System.err.println("The bicycle has already stopped!");
    }
}

The following program, IfElseDemo, assigns a grade based on the value of a test score: an A for a score of 90% or above, a B for a score of 80% or above, and so on.

class IfElseDemo {
    public static void main(String[] args) {

        int testscore = 76;
        char grade;

        if (testscore >= 90) {
            grade = 'A';
        } else if (testscore >= 80) {
            grade = 'B';
        } else if (testscore >= 70) {
            grade = 'C';
        } else if (testscore >= 60) {
            grade = 'D';
        } else {
            grade = 'F';
        }
        System.out.println("Grade = " + grade);
    }
}

The output from the program is:

Grade = C

You may have noticed that the value of testscore can satisfy more than one expression in the compound statement: 76 >= 70 and 76 >= 60. However, once a condition is satisfied, the appropriate statements are executed (grade = 'C';) and the remaining conditions are not evaluated.

The While and Do-while Statements

The while statement continually executes a block of statements while a particular condition is true. Its syntax can be expressed as:

while (expression) {
     statement(s)
}

The while statement evaluates expression, which must return a boolean value. If the expression evaluates to true, the while statement executes the statement(s) in the while block. The while statement continues testing the expression and executing its block until the expression evaluates to false. Using the while statement to print the values from 1 through 10 can be accomplished as in the following WhileDemo program:

class WhileDemo {
    public static void main(String[] args){
        int count = 1;
        while (count < 11) {
            System.out.println("Count is: " + count);
            count++;
        }
    }
}

You can implement an infinite loop using the while statement as follows:

while (true){
    // your code goes here
}

The Java programming language also provides a do-while statement, which can be expressed as follows:

do {
     statement(s)
} while (expression);

The difference between do-while and while is that do-while evaluates its expression at the bottom of the loop instead of the top. Therefore, the statements within the do block are always executed at least once, as shown in the following DoWhileDemo program:

class DoWhileDemo {
    public static void main(String[] args){
        int count = 1;
        do {
            System.out.println("Count is: " + count);
            count++;
        } while (count < 11);
    }
}

The For Statement

The for statement provides a compact way to iterate over a range of values. Programmers often refer to it as the "for loop" because of the way in which it repeatedly loops until a particular condition is satisfied. The general form of the for statement can be expressed as follows:

for (initialization; termination; increment) {
    statement(s)
}

When using this version of the for statement, keep in mind that:

• The initialization expression initializes the loop; it is executed once, as the loop begins.
• When the termination expression evaluates to false, the loop terminates.
• The increment expression is invoked after each iteration through the loop; it is perfectly acceptable for this expression to increment or decrement a value.

The following program, ForDemo, uses the general form of the for statement to print the numbers 1 through 10 to standard output:

class ForDemo {
    public static void main(String[] args){
         for(int i = 1; i < 11; i++){
              System.out.println("Count is: " + i);
         }
    }
}

The output of this program is:

Count is: 1
Count is: 2
Count is: 3
Count is: 4
Count is: 5
Count is: 6
Count is: 7
Count is: 8
Count is: 9
Count is: 10

Notice how the code declares a variable within the initialization expression. The scope of this variable extends from its declaration to the end of the block governed by the for statement, so it can be used in the termination and increment expressions as well. If the variable that controls a for statement is not needed outside of the loop, it is best to declare the variable in the initialization expression. The names i, j, and k are often used to control for loops; declaring them within the initialization expression limits their life span and reduces errors.

The three expressions of the for loop are optional; an infinite loop can be created as follows:

// infinite loop
for ( ; ; ) {

    // your code goes here
}

The for statement also has another form designed for iteration through Collections and arrays. This form is sometimes referred to as the enhanced for statement, and can be used to make your loops more compact and easy to read. To demonstrate, consider the following array, which holds the numbers 1 through 10:

int[] numbers = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10};

The following program, EnhancedForDemo, uses the enhanced for to loop through the array:

class EnhancedForDemo {
    public static void main(String[] args){
         int[] numbers =
             {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10};
         for (int item : numbers) {
             System.out.println("Count is: " + item);
         }
    }
}

In this example, the variable item holds the current value from the numbers array. The output from this program is the same as before:

Count is: 1
Count is: 2
Count is: 3
Count is: 4
Count is: 5
Count is: 6
Count is: 7
Count is: 8
Count is: 9
Count is: 10

We recommend using this form of the for statement instead of the general form whenever possible.

The Break Statement

The break statement has two forms: labeled and unlabeled. You saw the unlabeled form in the previous discussion of the switch statement. You can also use an unlabeled break to terminate a for, while, or do-while loop, as shown in the following BreakDemo program:

class BreakDemo {
    public static void main(String[] args) {

        int[] arrayOfInts =
            { 32, 87, 3, 589,
              12, 1076, 2000,
              8, 622, 127 };
        int searchfor = 12;

        int i;
        boolean foundIt = false;

        for (i = 0; i < arrayOfInts.length; i++) {
            if (arrayOfInts[i] == searchfor) {
                foundIt = true;
                break;
            }
        }

        if (foundIt) {
            System.out.println("Found " + searchfor + " at index " + i);
        } else {
            System.out.println(searchfor + " not in the array");
        }
    }
}

This program searches for the number 12 in an array. The break statement, terminates the for loop when that value is found. Control flow then transfers to the statement after the for loop. This program's output is:

Found 12 at index 4

An unlabeled break statement terminates the innermost switch, for, while, or do-while statement, but a labeled break terminates an outer statement. The following program, BreakWithLabelDemo, is similar to the previous program, but uses nested for loops to search for a value in a two-dimensional array. When the value is found, a labeled break terminates the outer for loop (labeled "search"):

class BreakWithLabelDemo {
    public static void main(String[] args) {

        int[][] arrayOfInts = {
            {  32,   87,    3, 589 },
            {  12, 1076, 2000,   8 },
            { 622,  127,   77, 955 }
        };
        int searchfor = 12;

        int i;
        int j = 0;
        boolean foundIt = false;

    search:
        for (i = 0; i < arrayOfInts.length; i++) {
            for (j = 0; j < arrayOfInts[i].length;
                 j++) {
                if (arrayOfInts[i][j] == searchfor) {
                    foundIt = true;
                    break search;
                }
            }
        }

        if (foundIt) {
            System.out.println("Found " + searchfor + " at " + i + ", " + j);
        } else {
            System.out.println(searchfor + " not in the array");
        }
    }
}

This is the output of the program.

Found 12 at 1, 0

The break statement terminates the labeled statement; it does not transfer the flow of control to the label. Control flow is transferred to the statement immediately following the labeled (terminated) statement.

The Continue Statement

The continue statement skips the current iteration of a for, while, or do-while loop. The unlabeled form skips to the end of the innermost loop's body and evaluates the boolean expression that controls the loop. The following program, ContinueDemo, steps through a String, counting the occurrences of the letter p. If the current character is not a p, the continue statement skips the rest of the loop and proceeds to the next character. If it is a p, the program increments the letter count.

class ContinueDemo {
    public static void main(String[] args) {

        String searchMe = "peter piper picked a " + "peck of pickled peppers";
        int max = searchMe.length();
        int numPs = 0;

        for (int i = 0; i < max; i++) {
            // interested only in p's
            if (searchMe.charAt(i) != 'p')
                continue;

            // process p's
            numPs++;
        }
        System.out.println("Found " + numPs + " p's in the string.");
    }
}

Here is the output of this program:

Found 9 p's in the string.

To see this effect more clearly, try removing the continue statement and recompiling. When you run the program again, the count will be wrong, saying that it found 35 p's instead of 9.

A labeled continue statement skips the current iteration of an outer loop marked with the given label. The following example program, ContinueWithLabelDemo, uses nested loops to search for a substring within another string. Two nested loops are required: one to iterate over the substring and one to iterate over the string being searched. The following program, ContinueWithLabelDemo, uses the labeled test of continue to skip an iteration in the outer loop.

class ContinueWithLabelDemo {
    public static void main(String[] args) {

        String searchMe = "Look for a substring in me";
        String substring = "sub";
        boolean foundIt = false;

        int max = searchMe.length() -
                  substring.length();

    test:
        for (int i = 0; i <= max; i++) {
            int n = substring.length();
            int j = i;
            int k = 0;
            while (n-- != 0) {
                if (searchMe.charAt(j++) != substring.charAt(k++)) {
                    continue test;
                }
            }
            foundIt = true;
                break test;
        }
        System.out.println(foundIt ? "Found it" : "Didn't find it");
    }
}

Here is the output from this program.

Found it

The Return Statement

The next branching statements is the return statement. The return statement exits from the current method, and control flow returns to where the method was invoked. The return statement has two forms: one that returns a value, and one that does not. To return a value, simply put the value (or an expression that calculates the value) after the return keyword.

return ++count;

The data type of the returned value must match the type of the method's declared return value. When a method is declared void, use the form of return that doesn't return a value.

return;

The Classes and Objects section will cover everything you need to know about writing methods.

The Yield Statement

The last branching statement is the yield statement. The yield statement exits from the current switch expression it is in. A yield statement is always followed by an expression that must produce a value. This expression must not be void. The value of this expression is the value produced by the enclosing switch expression.

Here is an example of a yield statement.

class Test {
    enum Day {
        MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY
    }

    public String calculate(Day d) {
        return switch (d) {
            case SATURDAY, SUNDAY -> "week-end";
                default -> {
                    int remainingWorkDays = 5 - d.ordinal();
                    yield remainingWorkDays;
                }
            };
    }
}