break and next

Two keywords change how a loop runs:

• break stops the loop completely.
• next skips the rest of the current pass and moves on to the next one.

Example

(1..10).each do |n|
  next if n.even?
  break if n > 7
  puts n
end

Expected output

1
3
5
7

Even numbers are skipped by next. When n reaches 9 (the first odd number over 7), break ends the loop.

Asking until the input is valid

loop do ... end with break is the standard pattern for repeating until the user gets it right:

loop do
  print "Enter a number between 1 and 10: "
  input = gets.to_s.chomp
  number = Integer(input, exception: false)

  if number && (1..10).cover?(number)
    puts "Thanks, you picked #{number}"
    break
  end

  puts "That's not valid — try again."
end

Enter a number between 1 and 10: twelve
That's not valid — try again.
Enter a number between 1 and 10: 4
Thanks, you picked 4

Common mistakes

• Using return instead of break to leave a loop at the top level of a script — return exits the whole method (or the whole script), not just the loop.

Practice

Print the numbers from 1 to 20, skipping every multiple of 3, and stop completely when you reach 16.

(1..20).each do |n|
  break if n == 16
  next if (n % 3).zero?
  puts n
end