Start code again?

Assuming that Java is done in a linear form, how can I start a code from the beginning?
for example, say I have a set of Password Fields, and if any is gotten wrong, the whole code starts again from the beginning.

Code :

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if (!passed) {
//Start from beginning
}
return passed;

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If the tests are in a while(true) loop, issue a continue; to start at the beginning of the loop.

Is that the only way to do it? Just out of interesst. Is there no way just to say "If this happens, start again." iunstead of being in a while loop? Because surely that would meen do everything and then start again? I'm just a bit confused.

Quote:

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start again.

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Where in the code do you go to start again? What are the all the steps that you are doing? Where in that list of steps do you want to go to start again?
I thought your code was to test field1 then test field2 then test field3 etc. When there is a problem, you output an error message and go back to the beginning: test field1, then 2 etc

Yes.
1. Password Field 1
Passed: go to Password Field 2
failed: restart from Password Field 1
2. Password Field 2
Passed: go to Password Field 3
failed: restart from Password Field 1
3. Password Field 3
Passed: go to Password Field 4
Failed: restart from Password Field 1
etc...

That logic looks like it'd fit in a while(true) loop.
The code in the loop would continue to the next test as each test passed.
When a test failed, use the continue statement to start at the beginning;
At the end of the tests, use a break to exit the loop

Thanks! So what would be the code for that?

fist line would be the while(true) {

// then lines of tests with continue when test fails

} // end of while(true)

I've got a book on Java, and it mention while loops but said nothing on while(true) loops (unless they're the same thing), nor continue statements. help?

What does your book say about the while statement? What goes in the () following the while? a Condition. What is a condition: an expression that evaluates to true or false. true is an expression that evaluates to true.

If it doesn't have the continue statement, its missing some important stuff. I wonder what else is missing.

Could you give a quick example on how to do it in this specific case?

Code :

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while (true) {
  if(!test1_OK)
    continue;    // go back to start
  if(!test2_OK)
   continue;    // go back to start
  // all tests ok
  break;  // exit loop
} // end while(true)

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while(true) loops, while functional, are somewhat of a poor code design as they are sometimes difficult to decipher what a section of code is suppose to do. That's not to say never use while(true) loops, as sometimes they are much easier to read than the alternatives (or produce shorter code), but try to use some of these alternatives before resorting to while(true) loops.

Ex. alternative: Use a boolean flag to determine if you can quit.

Code :

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boolean canQuit = false;
while(!canQuit)
{
     // <TODO> do test one
     if(test1_OK)
     {
           // <TODO> do test two
          if(test2_OK)
          {
               // <TODO> do test three
               if(test3_OK)
               {
                    // can quit
                    canQuit = true;
               }
          }
     }
}

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Here you can easily tell what the code is suppose to do and quickly follow each possible logic path.

Something else you can do to make your code easier to read (and write/manage) is to create "helper methods". These methods abstract away the details when you want to get the general picture of what some code is doing, and keep your code from getting bloated when you want the same code to be executed multiple times. Something like this:

Code :

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boolean canQuit = false;
while(!canQuit)
{
     if(doTest1() == true) // doTest1 is a method that you write to perform some stuff and returns true on success and false on fail
     {
          if(doTest2() == true) // doTest2 is a method that you write to perform some stuff... etc. etc.
          {
               if(doTest3() == true) // doTest3 is a method that you write to perform some stuff... etc. etc.
               {
                    canQuit = true;
               }
          }
     }
}

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then you just need to implement the doTest# methods somewhere and you have easily maintainable code

Code :

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public static boolean doTest1()
{
     System.out.println("did test1 succeed (y/n)?");
     if(new Scanner(System.in).next().equals("y"))
     {
          // test succeeded
          return true;
     }
     else
     {
          // test failed
          return false;
     }
}

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