C switch Keyword
Example
Calculate the weekday name:
int day = 4;
switch (day) {
case 1:
printf("Monday");
break;
case 2:
printf("Tuesday");
break;
case 3:
printf("Wednesday");
break;
case 4:
printf("Thursday");
break;
case 5:
printf("Friday");
break;
case 6:
printf("Saturday");
break;
case 7:
printf("Sunday");
break;
}
// Outputs "Thursday" (day 4)
Try it
Yourself »
Definition and Usage
The switch keyword selects one of many code blocks to be executed.
From the example above, it works like this:
- The
switchexpression is evaluated once. - The value of the expression is compared with the values of each
case. - If there is a match, the associated block of code is executed.
- The
breakkeyword is used to break out of the switch block when a match is found
Related Pages
Read more about the switch statement in our C Switch Tutorial.