Switch Statement – Appropriate Uses of Fall-Through

switch statement

When is it appropriate to use a fall-through (classic) switch statement? Is such usage recommended and encouraged or should it be avoided at all costs?

Best Answer

Here's an example where it would be useful.

public Collection<LogItems> GetAllLogItems(Level level) {
    Collection<LogItems> result = new Collection<LogItems>();
    switch (level) {
        // Note: fall through here is INTENTIONAL
        case All:
        case Info:
             result.Add(GetItemsForLevel(Info));
        case Warning:
             result.Add(GetItemsForLevel(Warning));
        case Error:
             result.Add(GetItemsForLevel(Error));
        case Critical:
             result.Add(GetItemsForLevel(Critical));
        case None:
    }
    return result;
}

This sort of thing (where one case includes the other) is rather rare, I think, which is why some newer languages either don't allow fallover or require special syntax for it.

Related Solutions

Should I use switch statements or long if…else chains

For this particular situation, it seems to me that both if and case are poor choices. I'd use a simple array:

String comments[] = {
    "You look so much better than usual.",
    "Your work is up to its usual standards.",
    "You're quite competent for so little experience."
};

String comment = comments[(int)(Math.random() * 3)];

As a side note, you should generally compute the multiplier based on the size of the array rather than hard-coding the 3.

As to when you would use a case/switch, the difference from a cascade of if statements (or at least one major difference) is that switch can semi-automatically optimize based on the number and density of values, whereas a cascade of if statements leaves the compiler with little choice but to generate code as you've written it, testing one value after another until it finds a match. With only three real cases, that's hardly a concern, but with a sufficient number it can/could be significant.

Switch Statements – Why Explicit Fall-Through is Rarely Used

It's primarily historical, most languages just copied what C did.

The reason that C did it that way is that the creators of C intended switch statements to be easy to optimize into a jump table. This is also the reason that C limits switch statements to integral values.

In a jump table, the program will calculate what position to jump to based on the expression. The program will jump to that point and then continue executing from that point. If you want skip the rest of the table you have to include a jump to the end of the table. C uses explicit break statements so that there is a direct correspondence to this construct.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Should I use switch statements or long if…else chains

Switch Statements – Why Explicit Fall-Through is Rarely Used

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