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Jump statements (C# reference)

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The following statements unconditionally transfer control:

For information about the throw statement that throws an exception and unconditionally transfers control as well, see throw.

The break statement

The break statement terminates the closest enclosing iteration statement (that is, for, foreach, while, or do loop) or switch statement. The break statement transfers control to the statement that follows the terminated statement, if any.

int[] numbers = { 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 };
foreach (int number in numbers)
{
    if (number == 3)
    {
        break;
    }

    Console.Write($"{number} ");
}
Console.WriteLine();
Console.WriteLine("End of the example.");
// Output:
// 0 1 2 
// End of the example.

In nested loops, the break statement terminates only the innermost loop that contains it, as the following example shows:

for (int outer = 0; outer < 5; outer++)
{
    for (int inner = 0; inner < 5; inner++)
    {
        if (inner > outer)
        {
            break;
        }

        Console.Write($"{inner} ");
    }
    Console.WriteLine();
}
// Output:
// 0
// 0 1
// 0 1 2
// 0 1 2 3
// 0 1 2 3 4

When you use the switch statement inside a loop, a break statement at the end of a switch section transfers control only out of the switch statement. The loop that contains the switch statement is unaffected, as the following example shows:

double[] measurements = { -4, 5, 30, double.NaN };
foreach (double measurement in measurements)
{
    switch (measurement)
    {
        case < 0.0:
            Console.WriteLine($"Measured value is {measurement}; too low.");
            break;

        case > 15.0:
            Console.WriteLine($"Measured value is {measurement}; too high.");
            break;

        case double.NaN:
            Console.WriteLine("Failed measurement.");
            break;

        default:
            Console.WriteLine($"Measured value is {measurement}.");
            break;
    }
}
// Output:
// Measured value is -4; too low.
// Measured value is 5.
// Measured value is 30; too high.
// Failed measurement.

The continue statement

The continue statement starts a new iteration of the closest enclosing iteration statement (that is, for, foreach, while, or do loop), as the following example shows:

for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++)
{
    Console.Write($"Iteration {i}: ");
    
    if (i < 3)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("skip");
        continue;
    }
    
    Console.WriteLine("done");
}
// Output:
// Iteration 0: skip
// Iteration 1: skip
// Iteration 2: skip
// Iteration 3: done
// Iteration 4: done

The return statement

The return statement terminates execution of the function in which it appears and returns control and the function's result, if any, to the caller.

If a function member doesn't compute a value, you use the return statement without expression, as the following example shows:

Console.WriteLine("First call:");
DisplayIfNecessary(6);

Console.WriteLine("Second call:");
DisplayIfNecessary(5);

void DisplayIfNecessary(int number)
{
    if (number % 2 == 0)
    {
        return;
    }

    Console.WriteLine(number);
}
// Output:
// First call:
// Second call:
// 5

As the preceding example shows, you typically use the return statement without expression to terminate a function member early. If a function member doesn't contain the return statement, it terminates after its last statement is executed.

If a function member computes a value, you use the return statement with an expression, as the following example shows:

double surfaceArea = CalculateCylinderSurfaceArea(1, 1);
Console.WriteLine($"{surfaceArea:F2}"); // output: 12.57

double CalculateCylinderSurfaceArea(double baseRadius, double height)
{
    double baseArea = Math.PI * baseRadius * baseRadius;
    double sideArea = 2 * Math.PI * baseRadius * height;
    return 2 * baseArea + sideArea;
}

When the return statement has an expression, that expression must be implicitly convertible to the return type of a function member unless it's async. In the case of an async function, the expression must be implicitly convertible to the type argument of Task<TResult> or ValueTask<TResult>, whichever is the return type of the function. If the return type of an async function is Task or ValueTask, you use the return statement without expression.

By default, the return statement returns the value of an expression. Beginning with C# 7.0, you can return a reference to a variable. To do that, use the return statement with the ref keyword, as the following example shows:

var xs = new int[] { 10, 20, 30, 40 };
ref int found = ref FindFirst(xs, s => s == 30);
found = 0;
Console.WriteLine(string.Join(" ", xs));  // output: 10 20 0 40

ref int FindFirst(int[] numbers, Func<int, bool> predicate)
{
    for (int i = 0; i < numbers.Length; i++)
    {
        if (predicate(numbers[i]))
        {
            return ref numbers[i];
        }
    }
    throw new InvalidOperationException("No element satisfies the given condition.");
}

For more information about ref returns, see Ref returns and ref locals.

The goto statement

The goto statement transfers control to a statement that is marked by a label, as the following example shows:

var matrices = new Dictionary<string, int[][]>
{
    ["A"] = new[]
    {
        new[] { 1, 2, 3, 4 },
        new[] { 4, 3, 2, 1 }
    },
    ["B"] = new[]
    {
        new[] { 5, 6, 7, 8 },
        new[] { 8, 7, 6, 5 }
    },
};

CheckMatrices(matrices, 4);

void CheckMatrices(Dictionary<string, int[][]> matrixLookup, int target)
{
    foreach (var (key, matrix) in matrixLookup)
    {
        for (int row = 0; row < matrix.Length; row++)
        {
            for (int col = 0; col < matrix[row].Length; col++)
            {
                if (matrix[row][col] == target)
                {
                    goto Found;
                }
            }
        }
        Console.WriteLine($"Not found {target} in matrix {key}.");
        continue;

    Found:
        Console.WriteLine($"Found {target} in matrix {key}.");
    }
}
// Output:
// Found 4 in matrix A.
// Not found 4 in matrix B.

As the preceding example shows, you can use the goto statement to get out of a nested loop.

Tip

When you work with nested loops, consider refactoring separate loops into separate methods. That may lead to a simpler, more readable code without the goto statement.

You can also use the goto statement in the switch statement to transfer control to a switch section with a constant case label, as the following example shows:

using System;

public enum CoffeChoice
{
    Plain,
    WithMilk,
    WithIceCream,
}

public class GotoInSwitchExample
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        Console.WriteLine(CalculatePrice(CoffeChoice.Plain));  // output: 10.0
        Console.WriteLine(CalculatePrice(CoffeChoice.WithMilk));  // output: 15.0
        Console.WriteLine(CalculatePrice(CoffeChoice.WithIceCream));  // output: 17.0
    }

    private static decimal CalculatePrice(CoffeChoice choice)
    {
        decimal price = 0;
        switch (choice)
        {
            case CoffeChoice.Plain:
                price += 10.0m;
                break;

            case CoffeChoice.WithMilk:
                price += 5.0m;
                goto case CoffeChoice.Plain;

            case CoffeChoice.WithIceCream:
                price += 7.0m;
                goto case CoffeChoice.Plain;
        }
        return price;
    }
}

Within the switch statement, you can also use the statement goto default; to transfer control to the switch section with the default label.

If a label with the given name doesn't exist in the current function member, or if the goto statement is not within the scope of the label, a compile-time error occurs. That is, you can't use the goto statement to transfer control out of the current function member or into any nested scope, for example, a try block.

C# language specification

For more information, see the following sections of the C# language specification:

See also