if and else let you branch logic based on whether any arbitrary
expression that evaluates to a boolean.
This is powerful because it lets you write logic as complicated as you need to.
if (isLeapYear && !bloodMoon && (age > 30 || catName.equals("fred"))) {
startRitual();
}But it can be burdensome if all you are doing is checking if some variable has a particular value.
~void main() {
if (food.equals("apple")) {
IO.println("Red");
}
else if (food.equals("grape")) {
IO.println("Purple");
}
else if (food.equals("orange")) {
IO.println("Orange");
}
else {
IO.println("Other");
}
~}For these situations, you can use a switch.
switch (fruit) {
case "apple" -> {
IO.println("Red");
}
case "grape" -> {
IO.println("Purple");
}
case "orange" -> {
IO.println("Orange");
}
default -> {
IO.println("Other");
}
}