How to Use Switch Case in C#

Use switch sections to execute code in C#.

Using "If...else" throughout your C# application can be hard to read and may also lead to you making programming mistakes. Instead use a "switch" statement that selects a switch section to execute from a list of candidates. A switch statement contains switch sections with one or multiple case labels that match the value of a switch expression. A switch expression is the value to be matched with a case label and when the match is made the code following the case section will execute.

Instructions

1. Launch Microsoft Visual C# Express and click "New Project." Click "Visual C#" below "Installed Templates" and double-click "Console Application" to create a new console application.

2. Copy and paste the following code to check a constant value with a switch expression:

   int switchVal = 6;

   Console.WriteLine("First switch example:");

   switch (switchVal)

   {

   case 1:

   Console.WriteLine("This is case 1");

   break;

   case 6:

   Console.WriteLine("This is case 6");

   break;

   default:

   Console.WriteLine("Default case");

   break;

   }

3. Copy and paste the following code to check a switch expression using more than one case label:

   Console.WriteLine("-----------------------");

   Console.WriteLine("Second switch example:");

   int switchValSecond = 2;

   switch (switchValSecond)

   {

   case 1:

   case 2:

   Console.WriteLine("This is case 1 and 2.");

   break;

   case 3:

   Console.WriteLine("This is case 3");

   break;

   default:

   Console.WriteLine("Default case");

   break;

   }

4. Add the following code to check a String expression using String values in the case labels:

   Console.WriteLine("-----------------------");

   Console.WriteLine("Third switch example:");

   string switchValThird = "7";

   switch (switchValThird)

   {

   case "1":

   case "2":

   Console.WriteLine("This is case 1 and 2.");

   break;

   case "7":

   Console.WriteLine("This is case 3");

   break;

   default:

   Console.WriteLine("Default case");

   break;

   }

5. End the program by adding the following lines of code:

   Console.WriteLine("-----------------------");

   Console.WriteLine("Press any key to end program...");

   Console.ReadKey(true);

6. Press "F5" to run your program.

References

• MSDN: switch (C# Reference)