CHAPTER 14: Blocks and Statements

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14.6 Labeled Statements

Statements may have label prefixes.

LabeledStatement:

	Identifier : Statement

LabeledStatementNoShortIf:

	Identifier : StatementNoShortIf

The Identifier is declared to be the label of the immediately contained Statement.

Unlike C and C++, the Java language has no goto statement; identifier statement labels are used with break (S14.13) or continue (S14.14) statements appearing anywhere within the labeled statement.

A statement labeled by an identifier must not appear anywhere within another statement labeled by the same identifier, or a compile-time error will occur. Two statements can be labeled by the same identifier only if neither statement contains the other.

There is no restriction against using the same identifier as a label and as the name of a package, class, interface, method, field, parameter, or local variable. Use of an identifier to label a statement does not hide a package, class, interface, method, field, parameter, or local variable with the same name. Use of an identifier as a local variable or as the parameter of an exception handler (S14.18) does not hide a statement label with the same name.

A labeled statement is executed by executing the immediately contained Statement. If the statement is labeled by an Identifier and the contained Statement completes abruptly because of a break with the same Identifier, then the labeled statement completes normally. In all other cases of abrupt completion of the Statement, the labeled statement completes abruptly for the same reason.