Java For Loop
When you know exactly how many times you want to loop through a block of
code, use the for loop instead of a while loop:
Syntax
for (statement 1; statement 2; statement 3) {
// code block to be executed
Statement 1 is executed (one time) before the execution of the code block.
Statement 2 defines the condition for executing the code block.
Statement 3 is executed (every time) after the code block has been
executed.
The example below will print the numbers 0 to 4:
Example
for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
System.out.println(i);
Example explained
Statement 1 sets a variable before the loop starts (int i = 0).
Statement 2 defines the condition for the loop to run (i must be less than 5). If
the condition is true, the loop will start over again, if it is false, the loop will
end.
Statement 3 increases a value (i++) each time the code block in the loop has
been executed.
Another Example
This example will only print even values between 0 and 10:
Example
for (int i = 0; i <= 10; i = i + 2) {
System.out.println(i);
Java For Each Loop
For-Each Loop
There is also a "for-each" loop, which is used exclusively to loop through
elements in an array:
Syntax
for (type variableName : arrayName) {
// code block to be executed
The following example outputs all elements in the cars array, using a "for-
each" loop:
Example
String[] cars = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford", "Mazda"};
for (String i : cars) {
System.out.println(i);
Note: Don't worry if you don't understand the example above. You will learn more
about Arrays in the Java Arrays chapter.
Java For Break and Continue
Java For Break
You have already seen the break statement used in an earlier chapter of this
tutorial. It was used to "jump out" of a switch statement.
The break statement can also be used to jump out of a loop.
This example stops the loop when i is equal to 4:
Example
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
if (i == 4) {
break;
System.out.println(i);
Java For Continue
The continue statement breaks one iteration (in the loop), if a specified
condition occurs, and continues with the next iteration in the loop.
This example skips the value of 4:
Example
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
if (i == 4) {
continue;
System.out.println(i);