Purpose of the "switch" Statement in C programming

Purpose of the switch Statement in C

The switch statement in C is used to select one block of code to be executed from multiple possible options based on the value of a variable or expression. It provides a more structured way to handle multiple conditional branches compared to using multiple if-else statements.

Syntax

The syntax for the switch statement is as follows:

switch (expression) {
    case value1:
        // Code to be executed if expression equals value1
        break;
    case value2:
        // Code to be executed if expression equals value2
        break;
    // More cases...
    default:
        // Code to be executed if none of the above cases match
}

Example

Here’s an example demonstrating how to use the switch statement in C:

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int day = 3;

    switch (day) {
        case 1:
            printf("Monday\\n");
            break;
        case 2:
            printf("Tuesday\\n");
            break;
        case 3:
            printf("Wednesday\\n");
            break;
        case 4:
            printf("Thursday\\n");
            break;
        case 5:
            printf("Friday\\n");
            break;
        case 6:
            printf("Saturday\\n");
            break;
        case 7:
            printf("Sunday\\n");
            break;
        default:
            printf("Invalid day\\n");
    }

    return 0;
}

Explanation

• switch (day) - Evaluates the expression day.
• case 3: - If day is 3, the code under this case executes, printing "Wednesday".
• break; - Exits the switch statement to prevent fall-through to subsequent cases.
• default: - Executes if none of the specified case values match the expression.

Note: The switch statement is useful for simplifying complex conditional logic, especially when dealing with many discrete values for a variable. It helps make the code more readable and maintainable.