Exit Statement

Used In

• For Loop
• While Loop

Reference Manual

VHDL-93:

• Section 8.1

Syntax

exit;

exit loop_label;

exit loop_label when condition;

Rules and Examples

The exit statement is used to terminate a while, for or infinite loop:

for I in 0 to 7 loop
    if FINISH_LOOP_EARLY = '1' then
        exit;
    else
        A_BUS <= TABLE(I);
        wait for 5 ns;
    end if;
end loop;

The exit statement may test a boolean condition directly using the when keyword:

process (A)
    variable I : integer range 0 to 4;
begin
    Z <= "0000";
    I := 0;    
    loop
        exit when I = 4;
        if (A = I) then
            Z(I) <= '1';
        end if;
            I := I + 1;
    end loop;
end process;

For an exit statement within a set of nested loops, the optional loop label may be used to indicate which level of loop is to be exited. The default (no label) is the innermost loop:

L1: for I in 0 to 7 loop

    L2: for J in 0 to 7 loop

        exit L1 when QUIT_BOTH_LOOPS = '1';
        exit when QUIT_INNER_LOOP = '1';

        -- other statements

    end loop L2;

end loop L1;

The exit statement may have an optional label

label: exit loop_label;

Synthesis Issues

The exit statement is supported by some logic synthesis tools, barring certain restrictions.

See Also

• For Loop
• While and Infinite Loop