PHP Break

In PHP, the break statement is used within loop structures (such as for, while, and do-while loops) and switch statements to terminate the loop or switch block prematurely.

When the break statement is encountered, the control immediately exits the loop or switch block, and the program continues executing the code after the loop or switch block.

Let’s see how break works in different contexts:

1. Using break in a Loop:

for ($i = 1; $i <= 5; $i++) {
    echo $i . " ";
    if ($i == 3) {
        break; // Terminate the loop when $i equals 3
    }
}

Output:

1 2 3

In the example above, the for loop iterates from 1 to 5. When $i becomes equal to 3, the break statement is executed, and the loop terminates immediately.

2. Using break in a Switch Statement:

$day = 'Wednesday';

switch ($day) {
    case 'Monday':
        echo 'Today is Monday';
        break;
    case 'Tuesday':
        echo 'Today is Tuesday';
        break;
    case 'Wednesday':
        echo 'Today is Wednesday';
        break; // Terminate the switch block when $day is 'Wednesday'
    default:
        echo 'Today is not Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday';
        break;
}

Output:

Today is Wednesday

In the example above, the switch block checks the value of $day and executes the corresponding case. When $day is ‘Wednesday’, the break statement inside the corresponding case is executed, and the switch block terminates.

The break statement is useful when you want to exit a loop early based on a specific condition or when you want to stop the execution of further case blocks in a switch statement once a match is found. It allows you to control the flow of your code within loops and switch statements.