How to break out of multiple loops at once in C#?

C#LoopsGotoBreak

C# Problem Overview


What if I have nested loops, and I want to break out of all of them at once?

while (true) {
    // ...
    while (shouldCont) {
        // ...
        while (shouldGo) {
            // ...
            if (timeToStop) {
                break; // Break out of everything?
            }
        }
    }
}

In PHP, break takes an argument for the number of loops to break out of. Can something like this be done in C#?

What about something hideous, like goto?

// In the innermost loop
goto BREAK
// ...
BREAK: break; break; break;

C# Solutions


Solution 1 - C#

Extract your nested loops into a function and then you can use return to get out of the loop from anywhere, rather than break.

Solution 2 - C#

Introduce another control flag and put it in all your nested while condition like below. Also replaces the while(true) condition you have with that

bool keepLooping = true;
while (keepLooping) {
    // ...
    while (shouldCont && keepLooping) {
        // ...
        while (shouldGo && keepLooping) {
            // ...
            if (timeToStop) { 
                keepLooping  = false;
                break; // break out of everything?
            }
        }  
    }
}

Solution 3 - C#

Goto is only hideous when abused. To drop out of the innermost loop of some nesting it's acceptable. BUT... one has to ask why there is so much nesting there in the first place.

Short answer: No.

Solution 4 - C#

If you want to break out of an entire method, then use the code below. If you only want to break out of a series of loops within a method without breaking out of the method, then one of the answers that have already been posted will do the job.

if (TimeToStop)
{
   return;
}

Attributions

All content for this solution is sourced from the original question on Stackoverflow.

The content on this page is licensed under the Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license.

Content TypeOriginal AuthorOriginal Content on Stackoverflow
QuestionNick HeinerView Question on Stackoverflow
Solution 1 - C#Michael AndersonView Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 2 - C#Fadrian SudamanView Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 3 - C#AndrewView Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 4 - C#tolu619View Answer on Stackoverflow