Using the break statement in Python

In Python, the break statement is used to terminate a loop prematurely. When the break statement is encountered inside a loop, the loop is immediately terminated and control is transferred to the statement immediately following the loop.

Syntax

The syntax for the break statement in Python is as follows:

while expression:
    statement(s)
    if condition:
        break

or:

for variable in sequence:
    statement(s)
    if condition:
        break

Here, expression is a Boolean expression that determines whether the loop should continue, statement(s) is the body of the loop, and condition is a Boolean expression that determines whether to terminate the loop prematurely.

Example

Let's look at an example of using the break statement to terminate a loop:

# Program to find the first even number in a list

numbers = [3, 7, 12, 6, 8, 9]

for num in numbers:
    if num % 2 == 0:
        print("The first even number in the list is:", num)
        break

In this example, we have a list of numbers and we want to find the first even number in the list. We use a for loop to iterate over each number in the list, and we use an if statement to check if the current number is even. If it is, we print a message and then use the break statement to terminate the loop prematurely.

Conclusion

The break statement is a useful tool for terminating loops prematurely in Python. By using the break statement, you can write more concise and readable code that is easier to understand and maintain.