4.6.3. Flow Control Statements

FlowControlStatement <- ContinueStatement / BreakStatement / ReturnStatement
ContinueStatement <- 'continue' ';'

Compile-time Behavior:

Only valid inside a WhileStatement, DoWhileStatement, or ForStatement block.

Runtime Behavior:

When a continue statement is executed, the innermost loop statement (while, do-while, or for) that contains the continue statement skips the remainder of the execution of its block. For a while or do-while loop, this means skipping to the condition. For a for loop, this means skipping to the update assignments.

BreakStatement <- 'break' ';'

Compile-time Behavior:

Only valid inside a WhileStatement, DoWhileStatement, or ForStatement block.

Runtime Behavior:

When a break statement is executed, the innermost loop statement (while, do-while, or for) that contains the break statement ends entirely, skipping any remaining statements, condition tests, or updates.

ReturnStatement <- 'return' Expression? ';'

Compile-time Behavior:

The expression provided must have a type matching the return type of the containing function. If the function has a return type of void, the expression must be omitted.

Runtime Behavior:

When a return statement with an expression is executed, the expression is evaluated, and the containing function returns with the value obtained from this evaluation. When a return statement with no expression is executed, the containing function returns.