.. _arduino-switchcase:

switch / case statements
========================

Like **if** statements, **switch...case** controls the flow of
programs by allowing programmers to specify different code that
should be executed in various conditions. In particular, a switch
statement compares the value of a variable to the values specified
in case statements. When a case statement is found whose value
matches that of the variable, the code in that case statement is
run.



The **break** keyword exits the switch statement, and is typically
used at the end of each case. Without a break statement, the switch
statement will continue executing the following expressions
("falling-through") until a break, or the end of the switch
statement is reached.



Example
~~~~~~~

::

      switch (var) {
        case 1:
          //do something when var equals 1
          break;
        case 2:
          //do something when var equals 2
          break;
        default: 
          // if nothing else matches, do the default
          // default is optional
      }



Syntax
~~~~~~

::

    switch (var) {
      case label:
        // statements
        break;
      case label:
        // statements
        break;
      default: 
        // statements
    }



Parameters
~~~~~~~~~~

var: the variable whose value to compare to the various cases



label: a value to compare the variable to



See also:
---------

`if...else <http://arduino.cc/en/Reference/Else>`_