Difference Between pass and continue in Python

1. Introduction

In Python, pass and continue are two control statements used within loops and conditionals. The pass statement is used as a placeholder for future code, essentially meaning "do nothing." On the other hand, continue is used to skip the current iteration of a loop and move to the next iteration.

2. Key Points

1. Function: pass does nothing and is used as a placeholder, while continue skips the current loop iteration.

2. Usage: pass is used when a statement is required syntactically but no action is needed, continue is used to skip certain iterations of a loop.

3. Flow Control: pass doesn't affect loop execution, continue immediately moves control to the beginning of the loop.

3. Differences

Aspect Pass Continue
Function Does nothing, placeholder Skips to the next loop iteration
Usage When a statement is syntactically required To skip certain loop iterations
Flow Control Doesn't affect the execution flow Immediately moves to the loop's start

4. Example

# Example of Pass
for i in range(5):
    if i == 2:
        pass
    print(i)

# Example of Continue
for i in range(5):
    if i == 2:
        continue
    print(i)

Output:

Pass Output:
0
1
2
3
4
Continue Output:
0
1
3
4

Explanation:

1. In the pass example, when i equals 2, the pass statement does nothing, and the loop continues normally.

2. In the continue example, when i equals 2, the continue statement causes the loop to skip printing 2 and move to the next iteration.

5. When to use?

- Use pass when you need a placeholder for syntactical reasons or when you plan to write code at that location in the future.

- Use continue when you want to skip the rest of the loop's code for certain iterations, moving the control back to the loop's beginning.

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