Java switch case String

Java switch case is a neat way to code for conditional flow, just like if-else conditions. Before Java 7, the only means to achieve string based conditional flow was using if-else conditions. But Java 7 has improved the switch case to support String also.

Java switch case String Example

Here I am providing a java program that shows the use of String in java switch case statements. For comparison, I am also providing another method which does the same conditional flow using if-else conditions. SwitchStringExample.java

package com.journaldev.util;

public class SwitchStringExample {

	public static void main(String[] args) {
		printColorUsingSwitch("red");
		printColorUsingIf("red");
		// switch case string is case sensitive
		printColorUsingSwitch("RED");
		printColorUsingSwitch(null);
	}

	private static void printColorUsingIf(String color) {
		if (color.equals("blue")) {
			System.out.println("BLUE");
		} else if (color.equals("red")) {
			System.out.println("RED");
		} else {
			System.out.println("INVALID COLOR CODE");
		}
	}

	private static void printColorUsingSwitch(String color) {
		switch (color) {
		case "blue":
			System.out.println("BLUE");
			break;
		case "red":
			System.out.println("RED");
			break;
		default:
			System.out.println("INVALID COLOR CODE");
		}
	}

}

Here is the output of the above program.

RED
RED
INVALID COLOR CODE
Exception in thread "main"
java.lang.NullPointerException
	at com.journaldev.util.SwitchStringExample.printColorUsingSwitch(SwitchStringExample.java:24)
	at com.journaldev.util.SwitchStringExample.main(SwitchStringExample.java:10)

Keys points to know for java switch case String are:

1. Java switch case String make code more readable by removing the multiple if-else-if chained conditions.
2. Java switch case String is case sensitive, the output of example confirms it.
3. Java Switch case uses String.equals() method to compare the passed value with case values, so make sure to add a NULL check to avoid NullPointerException.
4. According to Java 7 documentation for Strings in Switch, java compiler generates more efficient byte code for String in Switch statement than chained if-else-if statements.
5. Make sure to use java switch case String only when you know that it will be used with Java 7 else it will throw Exception.

Thats all for Java switch case String example. Tip: We can use java ternary operator rather than switch to write smaller code.