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Allows a program to evaluate an expression and attempt to match the expression's value to a case label.
Syntax
switch ( expression )
{
case label :
statements;
break;
case label :
statements;
break;
...
default : statements;
}
Parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| expression | Value matched against label. |
| label | Identifier used to match against expression. |
| statements | Block of statements that is executed once if expression matches label. |
Description
If a match is found, the program executes the associated statement. If multiple cases match the provided value, the first case that matches is selected, even if the cases are not equal to each other.
The program first looks for a label matching the value of expression and then executes the associated statement. If no matching label is found, the program looks for the optional default statement, and if found, executes the associated statement. If no default statement is found, the program continues execution at the statement following the end of switch.
The optional break statement associated with each case label ensures that the program breaks out of switch once the matched statement is executed and continues execution at the statement following switch. If break is omitted, the program continues execution at the next statement in the switch statement.
Examples
In the following example, if expression evaluates to "Bananas", the program matches the value with case "Bananas" and executes the associated statement. When break is encountered, the program breaks out of switch and executes the statement following switch. If break were omitted, the statement for case "Cherries" would also be executed.