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iOS

Posted by Paul Dunahoo
Paul Dunahoo
5,390 Points

Followup question to "Conditionals - Switch"

The Conditionals - Switch video gives a better way of having multiple 'else if'-like statements. However, it still seems a little redundant.

This is the code in the video:

int main()
{
    char a = 'a';
    char b = 'b';
    char g = 'g';

    char letter = 'z';
    switch (letter) {
        case 'a':
            printf("letter %c is %c\n", letter, a);
            break;

        case 'b':
            printf("letter %c is %c\n", letter, b);
            break;

        case 'g':
            printf("letter %c is %c\n", letter, g);
            break;

        default:
            printf("letter %c not found\n", letter);
            break;
    }

    return 0;
}

But is there a way to do something more like this (a combination of arrays and switch):

int main()
{
    char a = 'a';
    char b = 'b';
    char g = 'g';

    int randomize letter {'a', 'b', 'g'}

    char letter = 'z';
    switch (letter) {
        case randomLetter:
            printf("letter %c is %c\n", letter, randomLetter);
            break;

        default:
            printf("letter %c not found\n", letter);
            break;
    }

    return 0;
}

Call me silly, but this would make sense.

P.S. I know that my "randomize" method isn't proper or properly written, but I think you can get the idea of what I'm talking about.

1 Answer

Ben Rubin
Ben Rubin
Courses Plus Student 14,658 Points

Each case in a switch statement needs to be a single value. You can't use an array as the condition, nor can you do something like

switch (value)
{
   case value > 10:
      // this doesn't work
      break;
   default:
      // blah blah
      break;
}

If you want to do what you're suggesting, an if` statement is what you're looking for.

However, you CAN do something like this:

switch (letter)
{
   case 'a':
   case 'b':
   case 'g':
      printf("letter is either a, b, or g.");
      break;
   default:
      printf("letter is not a, b, or g");
      break;
}

The reason the above code works is that once you hit a matching case, your program will continue to execute everything within the switch until it hits a break command. That can cause problems if you forget to put in a break, but you can also use that to your advantage like this.

Paul Dunahoo
Paul Dunahoo
5,390 Points

Thanks!