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switch                      C Keyword                      switch




Test a variable against a table


switch is a C keyword that  lets you perform a number of tests on
a variable in a convenient manner.  For example,


while(foo < 10)
        switch(foo) {
        case 1:
                dosomething();
                break;
        case 2:
                somethingelse();
                break;
        case 3:
                anotherthing();
                break;
        default:
                break;
        }
}


is equivalent to


while(foo < 10) {
        if(foo == 1) {
                dosomething();
                continue;
        } else if(foo == 2) {
                somethingelse();
                anotherthing();
                continue;
        } else if(foo == 3) {
         /* Note: compiler eliminates duplicate code */
                anotherthing();
                continue;
        } else
                break;
}


switch is always used  with the case statement, and nearly always
with the default statement.

***** See Also *****

break, C keywords, case, default, keyword, while






COHERENT Lexicon                                           Page 1