switch Statements

switch Statements

When you compare one value against many exact options, a switch is cleaner than a long if/else ladder.

The basic form

int day = 4;

switch (day) {
    case 1:
        printf("Monday");
        break;
    case 2:
        printf("Tuesday");
        break;
    case 3:
        printf("Wednesday");
        break;
    default:
        printf("Looking forward to the weekend");
}

Key parts

• switch (value) - the value being checked.
• case N: - a possible value to match.
• break; - stops the switch once a case runs.
• default: - runs when no case matches.

Why break?

Without break, execution falls through into the next case. That is rarely what you want.

TL;DR

• switch tests one value against exact cases.
• Each case usually ends with break;.
• default catches everything unmatched.
• Use switch for many exact comparisons on one value.