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copied!<p>I wouldn't say it's <em>bad</em> - but equally I would normally at least look for an alternative.</p> <p>In situations where it's the first thing I write, I almost always at least <em>try</em> to refactor it into something clearer. Sometimes it can't be helped (or the alternative is to have a <code>bool</code> variable which does nothing meaningful except indicate the end of the loop, less clearly than a <code>break</code> statement) but it's worth at least trying.</p> <p>As an example of where it's clearer to use <code>break</code> than a flag, consider:</p> <pre><code>while (true) { doStuffNeededAtStartOfLoop(); int input = getSomeInput(); if (testCondition(input)) { break; } actOnInput(input); } </code></pre> <p>Now let's force it to use a flag:</p> <pre><code>boolean running = true; while (running) { doStuffNeededAtStartOfLoop(); int input = getSomeInput(); if (testCondition(input)) { running = false; } else { actOnInput(input); } } </code></pre> <p>I view the latter as more complicated to read: it's got an extra <code>else</code> block, the <code>actOnInput</code> is more indented, and if you're trying to work out what happens when <code>testCondition</code> returns <code>true</code>, you need to look carefully through the rest of the block to check that there isn't something <em>after</em> the <code>else</code> block which would occur whether <code>running</code> has been set to <code>false</code> or not.</p> <p>The <code>break</code> statement communicates the intent more clearly, and lets the rest of the block get on with what it needs to do without worrying about earlier conditions.</p> <p>Note that this is exactly the same sort of argument that people have about multiple return statements in a method. For example, if I can work out the result of a method within the first few lines (e.g. because some input is null, or empty, or zero) I find it clearer to return that answer directly than to have a variable to store the result, then a whole block of other code, and <em>finally</em> a <code>return</code> statement.</p>

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