How can I loop back to a main menu in Java * beginner coder*

Question

I am trying to loop back to the main menu using a while loop, and I cannot seem to get it to work. How can I implement this properly?

I've tried a do-while loop and a while and it's not working. I'm doing something wrong and I don't know what it is

boolean main_menu = true;
while (main_menu) {


    System.out.println("       Welcome to Zoos Victoria          ");
    System.out.println("        M A I N        M E N U           ");
    System.out.println(" Zoo has the following ticketing options:");
    System.out.println("         1 = Child (4-5 yrs)             ");
    System.out.println("         2 = Adult (18+ yrs)             ");
    System.out.println("      3 = Senior (60+ yrs) "  +  "\n"     );

    do {
    // select ticket option
    System.out.println(" Please enter your option:"     );
    ticket_option = input.nextInt();

        switch (ticket_option) {

            // Child_ticket
            case 1: 
                ticket_price = child_ticket; 
                ticket_name = " Child tickets";
                break; 

            // adult ticket
            case 2:  
                ticket_price = adult_ticket;
                ticket_name = " Adult tickets";
                break;

            //senior ticket 
            case 3:
                ticket_price = senior_ticket;
                ticket_name = " Senior tickets";
                break;  
            default:    
                System.out.println("Invalid entry!");
        } 

    } while( ticket_option > 3); //end of do while loop


    System.out.println("    Enter the number of tickets you would like:");
    ticket_amount = input.nextInt();
    total_price = ticket_amount * ticket_price;

    System.out.println(" you are purchasing " + ticket_amount + 
           ticket_name + " at " + "$"+ticket_price  + " each!");

    System.out.println(" Press 1 to confirm purchase"); 
    confirm_purchase = input.nextInt();

    if (confirm_purchase == 1)
        System.out.println("Total amount payable: "+ "$"+total_price);  
    else {  
        System.out.println("invalid key!");           
        main_menu = false;
    }   
      if (confirm_purchase == 1 ) {
System.out.println("Total amount payable: "+ "$"+total_price);  
    main_menu = false;
} else {            
        System.out.println("invalid key!");
        }

   System.out.println("Would you like to go back to the main menu?(Y/N) ");
   to_continue = input.next().toUpperCase();

   if (to_continue.equals("Y")){
     // back to main menu here
       System.out.println("Back to the main menu");

   }  else {
       System.out.println("Total amount payable: "+ "$"+total_price);
       System.out.println("Have a great time!");


   }
}// end while loop

} }

In the if statement the user is to press 1, if they don't, the program is to go back to the main menu. This currently does not work properly.

Answer 1

In your condition for confirm purchase, if user input an invalid key, you are putting the main_menu to false. you should remove it.

if (confirm_purchase == 1) {
System.out.println("Total amount payable: "+ "$"+total_price);  
} else {  
      System.out.println("invalid key!");           
             // main_menu = false; 
}