How does the continue keyword function within a loop?

The continue keyword is designed to alter the flow of execution within loops. When the continue statement is encountered, it causes the loop to skip the remaining code for the current iteration and proceed directly to the next iteration of the loop. This is particularly useful when you want to ignore certain conditions but continue looping through the remaining elements or iterations.

In contrast, the other options describe behaviors that are not associated with the continue keyword. Exiting a loop completely would involve using a break statement instead, and terminating the program is not the purpose of continue; that scenario typically requires a system exit command. Finally, the notion of allowing code to run only once does not apply to how continue functions, as it is focused on skipping specific iterations rather than limiting overall code execution.