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switch / case statements

Like if statements, switch...case controls the flow of programs by allowing programmers to specify different code that should be executed in various conditions. In particular, a switch statement compares the value of a variable to the values specified in case statements. When a case statement is found whose value matches that of the variable, the code in that case statement is run.

The break keyword exits the switch statement, and is typically used at the end of each case. Without a break statement, the switch statement will continue executing the following expressions ("falling-through") until a break, or the end of the switch statement is reached.

Example

  switch (var) {
    case 1:
      //do something when var equals 1
      break;
    case 2:
      //do something when var equals 2
      break;
    default: 
      // if nothing else matches, do the default
      // default is optional
  }

Syntax

switch (var) {
  case label:
    // statements
    break;
  case label:
    // statements
    break;
  default: 
    // statements
}

Parameters

var: the variable whose value to compare to the various cases

label: a value to compare the variable to

See also:

if...else

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This reference is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License and is based on the Arduino reference. Code samples in the reference are released into the public domain.

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