Break vs Continue vs Return vs Exit (PowerShell Example)
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A little script to show the difference between them all, and the results. I thougth it was an fun experiment.
Script:
Write-Output "Starting script..." function Start-CountingSheep { $sheepfarm = 1..99 Foreach ($sheep in $sheepfarm) { if ($sheep -match 9) { break # <- abort loop #continue # <- skip just this iteration, but continue loop #return # <- abort code, and continue in caller scope #exit # <- abort code at caller scope } "Counting sheep #$sheep" } 'Done counting sheep!' } Start-CountingSheep Write-Output "...script finished."Break Output Example:
(at the first sign of a nine, abort foreach loop)Starting script... Counting sheep #1 Counting sheep #2 Counting sheep #3 Counting sheep #4 Counting sheep #5 Counting sheep #6 Counting sheep #7 Counting sheep #8 Done counting sheep! ...script finished.Continue Output Example:
(continues through loop, skipping any number containing a nine)Starting script... Counting sheep #1 Counting sheep #2 Counting sheep #3 Counting sheep #4 Counting sheep #5 Counting sheep #6 Counting sheep #7 Counting sheep #8 Counting sheep #10 Counting sheep #11 Counting sheep #12 Counting sheep #13 Counting sheep #14 Counting sheep #15 Counting sheep #16 Counting sheep #17 Counting sheep #18 Counting sheep #20 Counting sheep #21 Counting sheep #22 Counting sheep #23 Counting sheep #24 Counting sheep #25 Counting sheep #26 Counting sheep #27 Counting sheep #28 Counting sheep #30 Counting sheep #31 Counting sheep #32 Counting sheep #33 Counting sheep #34 Counting sheep #35 Counting sheep #36 Counting sheep #37 Counting sheep #38 Counting sheep #40 Counting sheep #41 Counting sheep #42 Counting sheep #43 Counting sheep #44 Counting sheep #45 Counting sheep #46 Counting sheep #47 Counting sheep #48 Counting sheep #50 Counting sheep #51 Counting sheep #52 Counting sheep #53 Counting sheep #54 Counting sheep #55 Counting sheep #56 Counting sheep #57 Counting sheep #58 Counting sheep #60 Counting sheep #61 Counting sheep #62 Counting sheep #63 Counting sheep #64 Counting sheep #65 Counting sheep #66 Counting sheep #67 Counting sheep #68 Counting sheep #70 Counting sheep #71 Counting sheep #72 Counting sheep #73 Counting sheep #74 Counting sheep #75 Counting sheep #76 Counting sheep #77 Counting sheep #78 Counting sheep #80 Counting sheep #81 Counting sheep #82 Counting sheep #83 Counting sheep #84 Counting sheep #85 Counting sheep #86 Counting sheep #87 Counting sheep #88 Done counting sheep! ...script finished.Return Output Example:
(at the first sign of a nine, exit loop and function)Starting script... Counting sheep #1 Counting sheep #2 Counting sheep #3 Counting sheep #4 Counting sheep #5 Counting sheep #6 Counting sheep #7 Counting sheep #8 ...script finished.Exit Output Example:
(at the first sign of a nine, kill the script)Starting script... Counting sheep #1 Counting sheep #2 Counting sheep #3 Counting sheep #4 Counting sheep #5 Counting sheep #6 Counting sheep #7 Counting sheep #8 -
Thanks for the example. It makes so much sense now.
