How to skip a line in your Python program

In Python programming, there are various scenarios where you may need to skip a line of code to alter the flow of execution or simply exclude certain statements temporarily. Skipping a line can be useful when you want to bypass a specific block of code without deleting or commenting it out entirely. In this blog post, we will explore four different methods to skip a line of code in Python, including the 'pass' statement, conditionals, 'continue' statement, and 'return' statement.

Method 1: Use the ‘pass’ statement

One of the simplest ways to skip a line in Python is by using the 'pass' statement. The 'pass' statement does nothing and acts as a placeholder. It allows you to bypass a line of code without causing any syntax errors.

Let us assume we wish to print all numbers from 1 to 10 but would like to skip 5. Here is a program to do so using the ‘pass’ statement:

The output will be:

Now you might argue that you don’t really need the pass statement since the skipping functionality is really implemented by the “if” statement. But if you were to update your code like this:

you will get the error:

In Python, the 'pass' statement thus serves as a placeholder for future code. It is primarily used when you need to define a block of code that does nothing but must be present syntactically. Instead of leaving an empty block that would cause a syntax error like the above, the 'pass' statement allows you to indicate that there will be code in that section in the future. It acts as a placeholder, ensuring that the structure of your code remains intact while you focus on implementing the desired functionality. The 'pass' statement has no effect on the program's execution, making it useful when you want to skip a line or temporarily exclude a block of code without causing any issues.

Method 2: Use conditionals

Given the above discussion of the pass function, you can of course use conditionals directly to skip lines. Here we are modifying the if condition to specify the cases where you should not skip the statement:

This would give us the same output:

In this case however the idea that you are skipping a line is not quite salient in the code and you will need to understand the semantics to make the same conclusion.

Method 3: Use the ‘continue’ statement

In our third approach, we use the ‘continue’ statement. The 'continue' statement is commonly used within loops to skip the current iteration and move on to the next one. By placing the 'continue' statement in a loop, you can skip the remaining code within that iteration and proceed with the next iteration. Here is updated code for our example:

The output will be:

But this code looks very similar to the earlier one using ‘pass’. Are these two equivalent? Not really. Notice that in the program above we do not have an “else” clause. The print(i) is an unconditional print. The continue statement thus completely skips the iteration when the value reaches 5.

Method 4: Use the ‘return’ statement

A fourth approach to skip lines of code in Python is to put these lines in a Python function and use the “return” statement prematurely so it doesn’t execute the lines. Here is the updated program for this purpose:

The output is again:

In other words, inside the function “myprint” we check if the value is 5 and if so we return immediately. Else, we print the value and then return. Thus, if you desire to skip the remaining lines of code within a function and return a value immediately, you can use the 'return' statement. This statement not only terminates the current function execution but also provides a way to pass a value back to the caller. In the above case we simply return without any arguments but you could return with different arguments in different cases thus providing feedback to the calling function about what happened.

In summary, skipping a line of code in Python can be accomplished in several ways, each serving a different purpose depending on the situation. Whether you need to bypass a line within a loop, a function, or a conditional block, the 'pass' statement, 'continue' statement, 'return' statement, and conditionals provide flexible solutions. Which of these becomes your favorite is a matter of personal preference and style.

We hope you enjoyed learning about skipping lines in Python. If you liked this, learn about how to print a line break in Python.

Interested in more things Python? Checkout our post on Python queues. Also see our blogpost on Python's enumerate() capability. Also if you like Python+math content, see our blogpost on Magic Squares. Finally, master the Python print function!

Want to learn Python with us? Sign up for 1:1 or small group classes.