Java Switch Statement Tutorial

What is a Switch Statement?

A switch statement evaluates an expression and executes the matching case block.

It is commonly used when you have a variable that can take multiple discrete values and you want to perform different actions for each.

• Evaluates a single expression once.
• Matches the expression value against case labels.
• Executes the code block of the matching case.
• Optionally uses a default case if no match is found.

Syntax of Switch Statement

The basic syntax includes the switch keyword, an expression in parentheses, and multiple case labels with their corresponding code blocks.

Each case ends with a break statement to prevent fall-through, though fall-through can be used intentionally.

How Switch Statement Works

When the switch statement runs, it compares the expression's value to each case label.

If a match is found, the code inside that case executes until a break statement or the end of the switch block.

If no case matches, the default block executes if it exists.

• Expression can be of types: byte, short, char, int, enum, String (since Java 7).
• Break statements prevent execution from falling through to the next case.
• Omitting break causes fall-through, which can be useful but should be used carefully.

Example of Switch Statement

Here is a simple example demonstrating the switch statement with an integer variable.