What is the Python equivalent for a case/switch statement? [duplicate]
Is there a Python equivalent for the case statement such as the examples available in VB.NET or C#?
Python 3.10 and above
In Python 3.10, they introduced the pattern matching.
Example from the Python documentation:
def http_error(status):
match status:
case 400:
return "Bad request"
case 404:
return "Not found"
case 418:
return "I'm a teapot"
case _:
return "Something's wrong with the internet"
Before Python 3.10
While the official documentation are happy not to provide switch, I have seen a solution using dictionaries.
For example:
# define the function blocks
def zero():
print "You typed zero.\n"
def sqr():
print "n is a perfect square\n"
def even():
print "n is an even number\n"
def prime():
print "n is a prime number\n"
# map the inputs to the function blocks
options = {0 : zero,
1 : sqr,
4 : sqr,
9 : sqr,
2 : even,
3 : prime,
5 : prime,
7 : prime,
}
Then the equivalent switch block is invoked:
options[num]()
This begins to fall apart if you heavily depend on fall through.
The direct replacement is if
/elif
/else
.
However, in many cases there are better ways to do it in Python. See "Replacements for switch statement in Python?".