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brianatlarge

Is there really any big difference between


if ($something == "cheese") {
	 echo "Cheesey!";
} else if ($something == "bacon" {
	 echo "Smokey!";
} else {
	 echo "I'm hungry.";
}

and


switch ($something) {
	 case "cheese":
	 	 echo "Cheesey!";
	 	 break;
	 case "bacon":
	 	 echo "Smokey!";
	 	 break;
	 default:
	 	 echo "I'm hungry.";
}

I'm just not sure why you would use one over the other.

jamy_za

Nope, but I think the switch statement would be slightly faster.

cpj238

Ditto @jamy_za

If you're picky, here are some differences that I see:

The first one has 134 characters, and the second has 154.

The second one is more legible to me than the first, though it's only preference.

If I were to decide on which to use, I would pick the one that is most like the rest of my code.

TheDoc

Shows what I know, I don't think I've ever seen that second version before.

clokey2k

'switch' looks much nicer, and is better if the '$something' is a definate - like 'cheese' or 'biscuits'

'if' statements can handle complicated expressions '$something>8' (yeah, complicated I know :-) ). I'm not too sure that 'switch' can perform math functions. 'if' staments could get very complicated after 2-3 'elseif' 's. I admit, I haven't used switch, despite knowing of it's existance. I should use it more often.

treehouse : what would you like to learn today?

Forums

IF statements vs Switch statements