Control Flow›Core· 25 min read

The switch Statement

switch is a tidy way to pick one of many options based on a single value.

What you will learn

Write a switch statement
Use case, break and default
Know when switch beats a long if chain

One value, many cases

When you are checking the same variable against many fixed values, a long if / else if chain gets messy. A switch is cleaner: list each value as a case.

A switch that names the day of the week

int day = 3;
String name;

switch (day) {
    case 1: name = "Monday"; break;
    case 2: name = "Tuesday"; break;
    case 3: name = "Wednesday"; break;
    case 4: name = "Thursday"; break;
    case 5: name = "Friday"; break;
    default: name = "Weekend";
}

System.out.println("Day " + day + " is " + name);

Note: Output: Day 3 is Wednesday Java jumps to case 3, sets the name, and break stops it there. default runs when no case matches (here, days 6 and 7).

The important parts

case — a value to match against the switch variable.
break — stops the switch. Without it, Java keeps running into the next case (called fall-through).
default — the catch-all, like the final else. It runs when nothing else matched.

Watch out: Do not forget break. If you leave it out, Java falls through and runs the next case too — a sneaky bug. (Sometimes fall-through is wanted, but as a beginner, always add break.)

switch works on text too

A switch is not just for numbers — it can match a String as well. This is handy for simple menus where the user types a word like a command.

A switch matching String values

String command = "stop";

switch (command) {
    case "start": System.out.println("Starting..."); break;
    case "stop":  System.out.println("Stopping..."); break;
    case "pause": System.out.println("Paused.");     break;
    default:      System.out.println("Unknown command.");
}

Note: Output: Stopping... The value of command is "stop", so Java jumps to case "stop" and prints Stopping... Matching text works exactly like matching numbers — each case is one possible value of the switch variable.

Tip: Newer Java has an arrow form: case 3 -> name = "Wednesday"; which needs no break. The classic form shown here works in every version, so it is the safest to learn first.

Q. What does break do inside a switch?

Answer: Without break, Java falls through into the following cases. break exits the switch once a case has run.

✍️ Practice

Write a switch that turns a number 1 to 5 into a star rating message.
Add a default case that prints Unknown for any other number.

🏠 Homework

Build a tiny menu: read a number 1 to 3 and use switch to print Add, View or Quit.