The switch Statement
Choose between many blocks based on one value.
Syntax
switch (value) { case x: ...; break; }The switch statement compares one value against several case options. It is a tidy alternative to a long if...else if chain.
Important parts
breakstops the switch after a matching case runs.defaultruns when no case matches.
Example
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When to use it
- Route different HTTP method strings (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) to separate handler functions.
- Display a different notification icon based on the event type returned from an API.
- Apply a different discount rate depending on which membership tier the user belongs to.
More examples
Switch on a string value
Uses switch to map a notification type string to its corresponding icon name.
function getIcon(type) {
switch (type) {
case "error": return "x-circle";
case "warning": return "alert-triangle";
case "success": return "check-circle";
default: return "info";
}
}
console.log(getIcon("warning")); // "alert-triangle"Fall-through for shared logic
Combines two cases without a break so Saturday and Sunday both fall through to the same message.
const day = "Saturday";
switch (day) {
case "Saturday":
case "Sunday":
console.log("Weekend – store closed");
break;
default:
console.log("Weekday – store open");
}Switch for HTTP method routing
Routes an HTTP method string to a handler description, normalising case with toUpperCase first.
function handle(method) {
switch (method.toUpperCase()) {
case "GET": return "fetch resource";
case "POST": return "create resource";
case "DELETE": return "remove resource";
default: return "method not allowed";
}
}
console.log(handle("post")); // "create resource"
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