Java Switch Examples: Case and Break

Switch. This is a selection statement.

It acts upon a variable and selects the case-statement that matches. Switch has limits, but has also advantages and elegance.

Fall through. In a switch, control flow falls through to the next case. We must be careful to use breaks (or returns) to prevent incorrect behavior.

This example loops over the numbers 0, 1 and 2. The switch has no case for 0, so the default block is reached. For 1 the first case matches.

And: For 2, the second case block is matched. This would match 3 as well. No break occurs, so it then matches default.

Based on:

Java 7

Java program that uses switch

public class Program {
    public static void main(String[] args) {

	// Loop through 0, 1, and 2.
	for (int i = 0; i <= 2; i++) {
	    // Switch on number.
	    switch (i) {
		case 1: {
		    System.out.println("One: " + i);
		    break;
		}
		case 2:
		case 3: {
		    System.out.println("Two or three: " + i);
		}
		default: {
		    System.out.println("Default case: " + i);
		}
	    }
	}
    }
}

Output

Default case: 0
One: 1
Two or three: 2
Default case: 2

Guide. A switch is best used only when the input is unknown. The example does not follow this guideline. We use the System.out.println method to write the console.

Console

Caution: With switch, problems can occur because of incorrect fall-through cases. Be careful to check that are used when needed.

Also: An alternative control structure is the if-statement. This may be clearer in many program contexts.

If

Method, strings. This program uses String literals within a switch-statement. If we pass "Max" or "Elle" to getValue, these literals are detected. We return from the switch statement.

Java program that uses method, Strings

public class Program {

    static int getValue(String name) {
	// Switch on a String argument.
	switch (name) {
	case "Max":
	    return 1;
	case "Elle":
	    return 2;
	}
	return 0;
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {

	// Call method that uses switch.
	String name = "Max";
	int result = getValue(name);
	System.out.println(result);
	System.out.println(getValue("Elle"));
    }
}

Output

1
2

Nested switch. We sometimes nest a switch within another one. This program uses two switches. It first checks the first letter of a string (with charAt) and then tests the second char.

Tip: We can check for possible string matches this way. A switch can check all possible characters at each position.

Java program that uses nested switch

public class Program {
    public static void main(String[] args) {

	String value = "hi";

	// Switch on first letter.
	switch (value.charAt(0)) {
	case 'h':
	    // Switch on second letter.
	    switch (value.charAt(1)) {
	    case 'i':
		System.out.println("Values are h, i");
		break;
	    case 'e':
		System.out.println("?");
		break;
	    }
	    break;
	case 'e':
	    System.out.println("?");
	    break;
	}
    }
}

Output

Values are h, i

Constant expressions. A switch cannot have variables in its cases. It must have constants. But we can use compile-time, constant expressions as cases. This can make code clearer.

Note: The compiler evaluates the constant expressions (like 10 * 10) at compile-time. They are the same as constant values (like 100).

Java program that uses expressions in switch

public class Program {
    public static void main(String[] args) {

	int value = 100;

	// Match constant-value expressions in cases.
	switch (value) {
	case 10 * 1:
	    System.out.println("A");
	    break;
	case 10 * 10:
	    System.out.println("B");
	    break;
	case 10 * 100:
	    System.out.println("C");
	    break;
	}
    }
}

Output

B

Duplicate cases. A switch cannot have duplicate cases. This error sometimes occur in large switches that are harder to remember. The program does not compile.

Note: Constant expressions are checked for duplication as well. This helps ensure program quality.

Java program that has duplicate cases

public class Program {
    public static void main(String[] args) {

	int value = 100;
	// This switch causes compilation problems.
	switch (value) {
	case 100:
	    System.out.println(true);
	    break;
	case 100:
	    System.out.println(true);
	    break;
	}
    }
}

Output

Exception in thread "main" java.lang.Error:
    Unresolved compilation problems:
    Duplicate case
    Duplicate case
    at program.Program.main(Program.java:9)

Type mismatch. Cases in a switch must match the type of the value being switched upon. Java provides this checking to ensure program quality—switch cases are valid based on the type.

Java program that causes type mismatch

public class Program {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
	byte value = 100;

	// A byte can never equal 1000 so an error occurs.
	switch (value) {
	case 1000:
	    System.out.println(false);
	    return;
	}
    }
}

Output

Exception in thread "main" java.lang.Error:
    Unresolved compilation problem:
    Type mismatch: cannot convert from int to byte
    at program.Program.main(Program.java:8)

Continue. Statements like continue and return can be used within a switch. But these affect the enclosing block, not the switch itself.

Loop: A continue in a switch moves to the next iteration in an enclosing loop. A return acts on the enclosing method.

Java that uses continue in switch

public class Program {
    public static void main(String[] args) {

	for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
	    switch (i) {

	    case 0:
	    case 1:
		// The continue moves to the next iteration in the loop.
		continue;
	    default:
		// This breaks the switch, not the loop.
		break;
	    }

	    System.out.println(i);
	}
    }
}

Output

2
3
4

Performance. Switch sometimes has clear performance advantages over an if-statement. Consider this example. The values 0 through 4 are tested many times.

And: Usually no cases in the switch or the if-statement are matched. So the switch statement is executed faster.

Caution: Switch can slow down a method. If one case is most common, checking it first in an if-statement is worth trying.

Java that times switch, if-statement

public class Program {
    public static void main(String[] args) {

	long t1 = System.currentTimeMillis();

	// ... Use switch.
	int total = 0;
	for (int i = 0; i < 100000000; i++) {
	    switch (i) {
	    case 0:
		total--;
		break;
	    case 1:
		total -= 2;
		break;
	    case 2:
	    case 3:
	    case 4:
		total++;
		break;
	    }
	}

	long t2 = System.currentTimeMillis();

	// ... Use if-else.
	int total2 = 0;
	for (int i = 0; i < 100000000; i++) {
	    if (i == 0) {
		total2--;
	    } else if (i == 1) {
		total2 -= 2;
	    } else if (i >= 2 && i <= 4) {
		total2++;
	    }
	}

	long t3 = System.currentTimeMillis();

	// ... Times.
	System.out.println(t2 - t1);
	System.out.println(t3 - t2);
    }
}

Output

234 ms, switch
281 ms, if/else if

Analyze performance. Often groups of near numbers are faster in a switch. But if one number occurs most often, it may be faster to simply test it first with an if-statement.

So: Frequency analysis can help with determining whether an if-statement or a switch is optimal.

Tip: Add to a counter on each code statement reached. And then optimize for the most common path.

Alternative. Switch is an alternative selection statement. In some places where many constants must be matched, an if-statement may be awkward.

A review. We use switch to rewrite, and clarify, this code. We benchmarked and tested this construct. Switch supports Strings and constant expressions.

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