Introduction

  • 3 minutes

The C# programming language is similar to any human written or spoken language. They each support different ways of expressing the same idea. In spoken languages, some words and phrases are more descriptive, accurate, or succinct than others. In the C# programming language, there is more than one way to create branching logic. For example, selections that use if statements and selections that use switch statements. Depending on the context of your application, one type of selection statement might be more expressive and succinct than the other.

Suppose working on applications that make extensive use of selections statements. In some cases, if-elseif-else constructs are used to produce succinct and expressive code that is easy to read and maintain. In other cases, the if-elseif-else constructs produce the required result, but are difficult to read and maintain. You have been tasked with reviewing the code and determining when it is suitable to use a switch statement rather than an if statement.

In this module, you'll investigate the use of a switch statement to implement branching logic as an alternative to an if statement. You'll also work on converting an if-elseif-else construct to a switch-case construct. During this process, you'll learn to recognize the benefits of choosing one type of selection statement over the other.

By the end of this module, you'll be able to implement switch statements in your application, judge when to use a switch statement over an if-elseif-else construct, and convert if-elseif-else constructs to switch statements.

Learning objectives

In this module, you will:

  • Use the switch-case construct to match a variable or expression against several possible outcomes.
  • Convert code that uses an if-elseif-else construct into a switch-case construct.

Prerequisites:

  • Experience using the if-elseif-else construct for adding branching logic.
  • Experience working with variables, string interpolation, and printing output.