Java Control Statements | Control Flow in

Java
Java compiler executes the code from top to bottom. The statements in the code are
executed according to the order in which they appear. However, Java provides
statements that can be used to control the flow of Java code. Such statements are
called control flow statements. It is one of the fundamental features of Java, which
provides a smooth flow of program.

Java provides three types of control flow statements.

1. Decision Making statements

o if statements
o switch statement
2. Loop statements
o do while loop
o while loop
o for loop
o for-each loop
3. Jump statements
o break statement
o continue statement

Decision-Making statements:
As the name suggests, decision-making statements decide which statement to execute
and when. Decision-making statements evaluate the Boolean expression and control
the program flow depending upon the result of the condition provided. There are two
types of decision-making statements in Java, i.e., If statement and switch statement.

1) If Statement:
In Java, the "if" statement is used to evaluate a condition. The control of the program
is diverted depending upon the specific condition. The condition of the If statement
gives a Boolean value, either true or false. In Java, there are four types of if-statements
given below.
1) Simple if statement:

It is the most basic statement among all control flow statements in Java. It evaluates a
Boolean expression and enables the program to enter a block of code if the expression
evaluates to true.

Syntax of if statement is given below.

1. if(condition) {
2. statement 1; //executes when condition is true
3. }

Consider the following example in which we have used the if statement in the java
code.

[Link]

[Link]

1. public class Student {

2. public static void main(String[] args) {
3. int x = 10;
4. int y = 12;
5. if(x+y > 20) {
6. [Link]("x + y is greater than 20");
7. }
8. }
9. }

Output:

2) if-else statement

The if-else statement is an extension to the if-statement, which uses another block of
code, i.e., else block. The else block is executed if the condition of the if-block is
evaluated as false.

Syntax:

1. if(condition) {
2. statement 1; //executes when condition is true
3. }
 4. else{
5. statement 2; //executes when condition is false
6. }

Consider the following example.

[Link]

1. public class Student {

2. public static void main(String[] args) {
3. int x = 10;
4. int y = 12;
5. if(x+y < 10) {
6. [Link]("x + y is less than 10");
7. } else {
8. [Link]("x + y is greater than 20");
9. }
10. }
11. }
3) if-else-if ladder:

The if-else-if statement contains the if-statement followed by multiple else-if

statements. In other words, we can say that it is the chain of if-else statements that
create a decision tree where the program may enter in the block of code where the
condition is true. We can also define an else statement at the end of the chain.

Syntax of if-else-if statement is given below.

1. if(condition 1) {
2. statement 1; //executes when condition 1 is true
3. }
4. else if(condition 2) {
5. statement 2; //executes when condition 2 is true
6. }
7. else {
8. statement 2; //executes when all the conditions are false
9. }
Consider the following example.
1. public class Student {
2. public static void main(String[] args) {
3. String city = "Delhi";
4. if(city == "Meerut") {
5. [Link]("city is meerut");
6. }else if (city == "Noida") {
7. [Link]("city is noida");
8. }else if(city == "Agra") {
9. [Link]("city is agra");
10. }else {
11. [Link](city);
12. }
13. }
14. }
4. Nested if-statement

In nested if-statements, the if statement can contain a if or if-else statement inside

another if or else-if statement.

Syntax of Nested if-statement is given below.

1. if(condition 1) {
2. statement 1; //executes when condition 1 is true
3. if(condition 2) {
4. statement 2; //executes when condition 2 is true
5. }
6. else{
7. statement 2; //executes when condition 2 is false
8. }
9. }

Consider the following example.

[Link]

1. public class Student {

2. public static void main(String[] args) {
 3. String address = "Delhi, India";
4.
5. if([Link]("India")) {
6. if([Link]("Meerut")) {
7. [Link]("Your city is Meerut");
8. }else if([Link]("Noida")) {
9. [Link]("Your city is Noida");
10. }else {
11. [Link]([Link](",")[0]);
12. }
13. }else {
14. [Link]("You are not living in India");
15. }
16. }
17. }

Switch Statement:
In Java, Switch statements are similar to if-else-if statements. The switch statement
contains multiple blocks of code called cases and a single case is executed based on
the variable which is being switched. The switch statement is easier to use instead of
if-else-if statements. It also enhances the readability of the program.

Points to be noted about switch statement:

o The case variables can be int, short, byte, char, or enumeration. String type is
also supported since version 7 of Java
o Cases cannot be duplicate
o Default statement is executed when any of the case doesn't match the value of
expression. It is optional.
o Break statement terminates the switch block when the condition is satisfied.
It is optional, if not used, next case is executed.
o While using switch statements, we must notice that the case expression will be
of the same type as the variable. However, it will also be a constant value.

The syntax to use the switch statement is given below.

1. switch (expression){
2. case value1:
 3. statement1;
4. break;
5. .
6. .
7. .
8. case valueN:
9. statementN;
10. break;
11. default:
12. default statement;
13. }

Consider the following example to understand the flow of the switch statement.

[Link]

1. public class Student implements Cloneable {

2. public static void main(String[] args) {
3. int num = 2;
4. switch (num){
5. case 0:
6. [Link]("number is 0");
7. break;
8. case 1:
9. [Link]("number is 1");
10. break;
11. default:
12. [Link](num);
13. }
14. }
15. }

Loop Statements
In programming, sometimes we need to execute the block of code repeatedly while
some condition evaluates to true. However, loop statements are used to execute the
set of instructions in a repeated order. The execution of the set of instructions depends
upon a particular condition.
In Java, we have three types of loops that execute similarly. However, there are
differences in their syntax and condition checking time.

1. for loop
2. while loop
3. do-while loop

SYNTAX:

for(initialization; condition; increment/decrement){

//statement or code to be executed
}

1. Initialization: It is the initial condition which is executed once when the loop starts.
Here, we can initialize the variable, or we can use an already initialized variable. It is an
optional condition.
2. Condition: It is the second condition which is executed each time to test the condition
of the loop. It continues execution until the condition is false. It must return boolean
value either true or false. It is an optional condition.
3. Increment/Decrement: It increments or decrements the variable value. It is an
optional condition.
4. Statement: The statement of the loop is executed each time until the second condition
is false.
[Link]

//Java Program to demonstrate the example of for loop

//which prints table of 1
public class ForExample {
public static void main(String[] args) {
//Code of Java for loop
for(int i=1;i<=10;i++){
[Link](i);
}
}
}

[Link]

1. public class Calculattion {

2. public static void main(String[] args) {
3. // TODO Auto-generated method stub
4. int sum = 0;
 5. for(int j = 1; j<=10; j++) {
6. sum = sum + j;
7. }
8. [Link]("The sum of first 10 natural numbers is " + sum);
9. }
10. }

Java Nested for Loop

If we have a for loop inside the another loop, it is known as nested for loop. The inner
loop executes completely whenever outer loop executes.

Example:

[Link]

public class NestedForExample {

public static void main(String[] args) {
//loop of i
for(int i=1;i<=3;i++){
//loop of j
for(int j=1;j<=3;j++){
[Link](i+" "+j);
}//end of i
}//end of j
}
}

[Link]

public class PyramidExample {

public static void main(String[] args) {
for(int i=1;i<=5;i++){
for(int j=1;j<=i;j++){
[Link]("* ");
}
[Link]();//new line
 }
}
}

Java for-each Loop

The for-each loop is used to traverse array or collection in Java. It is easier to use than
simple for loop because we don't need to increment value and use subscript notation.

It works on the basis of elements and not the index. It returns element one by one in
the defined variable.

Syntax:

for(data_type variable : array_name){

//code to be executed
}

Java for Loop vs while Loop vs do-while Loop

Comparison for loop while loop do-while loop

Introduction The Java for loop is a The Java while loop The Java do while
control flow statement that is a control flow loop is a control flow
iterates a part of statement that statement that
the programs multiple executes a part of executes a part of
times. the programs the programs at
repeatedly on the least once and the
basis of given further execution
boolean condition. depends upon the
given boolean
condition.
 When to use If the number of iteration is If the number of If the number of
fixed, it is recommended to iteration is not fixed, iteration is not fixed
use for loop. it is recommended and you must have
to use while loop. to execute the loop
at least once, it is
recommended to
use the do-while
loop.

Syntax for(init;condition;incr/decr) while(condition){ do{

{ //code to be //code to be
// code to be executed executed executed
} } }while(condition);

Example //for loop //while loop //do-while loop

for(int i=1;i<=10;i++){ int i=1; int i=1;
[Link](i); while(i<=10){ do{
} [Link](i) [Link](i)
; ;
i++; i++;
} }while(i<=10);

Syntax for for(;;){ while(true){ do{

infinitive loop //code to be executed //code to be //code to be
} executed executed
} }while(true);

Java While Loop

The Java while loop is used to iterate a part of the program repeatedly until the
specified Boolean condition is true. As soon as the Boolean condition becomes false,
the loop automatically stops.

The while loop is considered as a repeating if statement. If the number of iteration is

not fixed, it is recommended to use the while loop.

Syntax:

while (condition){
 //code to be executed
I ncrement / decrement statement
}

1. Condition: It is an expression which is tested. If the condition is true, the loop body is
executed and control goes to update expression. When the condition becomes false,
we exit the while loop.

[Link]

public class WhileExample {

public static void main(String[] args) {
int i=1;
while(i<=10){
[Link](i);
i++;
}
}
}

Consider the following example.

Calculation .java
 1. public class Calculation {
2. public static void main(String[] args) {
3. // TODO Auto-generated method stub
4. int i = 0;
5. [Link]("Printing the list of first 10 even numbers \n");
6. while(i<=10) {
7. [Link](i);
8. i = i + 2;
9. }
10. }
11. }

Java do-while Loop

The Java do-while loop is used to iterate a part of the program repeatedly, until the
specified condition is true. If the number of iteration is not fixed and you must have to
execute the loop at least once, it is recommended to use a do-while loop.

Java do-while loop is called an exit control loop. Therefore, unlike while loop and for
loop, the do-while check the condition at the end of loop body. The Java do-while
loop is executed at least once because condition is checked after loop body.

Syntax:

do{
//code to be executed / loop body
//update statement
}while (condition);

1. Condition: It is an expression which is tested. If the condition is true, the loop body is
executed and control goes to update expression. As soon as the condition becomes
false, loop breaks automatically.
[Link]

public class DoWhileExample {

public static void main(String[] args) {
int i=1;
do{
[Link](i);
i++;
}while(i<=10);
}
}

Consider the following example to understand the functioning of the do-while loop in
Java.

[Link]

1. public class Calculation {

2. public static void main(String[] args) {
3. // TODO Auto-generated method stub
4. int i = 0;
5. [Link]("Printing the list of first 10 even numbers \n");
6. do {
7. [Link](i);
8. i = i + 2;
9. }while(i<=10);
10. }
11. }