Switch Statements

Switch statements are great for times when you need to check for a variety of conditions. Instead of writing out complex if else statements, you can see if a value or expression match specific cases. Multiple values (or cases) can run the same block of code. The following example shows us checking for the user to accept or decline with a y, Y, YES, yes, oui, n, or N value. Otherwise it lets them know they didn't enter a proper value.

public static void main(String[] args) {
  String userInput = args[0]; // get the first argument for the user
  // we expect y, Y, YES, oui, n, n
  // userInput should equal y, n, Y, N
  // switch accepts a variable argument and has different options (cases)
  // match and then run code until a break statement is read
  switch(userInput) {
      case "Y": // single
      case "y": // or multiple cases
      case "yes": // can run the same block of code
      case "YES": // all of these (y, Y, yes, YES, oui)
      case "oui": // run the next line of code
          System.out.println("ok, thank you");
          break; // STOP
      case "N": // same for N and n
      case "n": // they run this...
          System.out.println("ok y not?");
          break; // STOP
      default:  // if no other conditions are met... default!
          System.out.println("We could not interpret your input??????");
          break;
}