Control Structures switch case

switch / case statements

Like if statements, switch...case controls the flow of programs by allowing programmers to specify different code that should be executed in various conditions. In particular, a switch statement compares the value of a variable to the values specified in case statements. When a case statement is found whose value matches that of the variable, the code in that case statement is run.
The break keyword exits the switch statement, and is typically used at the end of each case. Without a break statement, the switch statement will continue executing the following expressions ("falling-through") until a break, or the end of the switch statement is reached.

Example

switch (var) {
    case 1:
      //do something when var equals 1
      break;
    case 2:
      //do something when var equals 2
      break;
    default: 
      // if nothing else matches, do the default
      // default is optional
  }

Syntax

switch (var) {
  case label:
    // statements
    break;
  case label:
    // statements
    break;
  default: 
    // statements
}

Parameters

var: the variable whose value to compare to the various cases
label: a value to compare the variable to

See also:

if...else Reference Home

References