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Khalid Abuhakmeh logo Khalid Abuhakmeh

Tip #010

Switch expressions

C# 8

Code card: Switch expressions. Program output: *Cthulhu noises* / Purrr... / Woof!

About this tip

A switch expression returns a value directly, with no case labels or temp variable. Pattern match with a switch expression: every arm returns a value, and _ catches the rest. It is available since C# 8. The key line is Species.Cat => "Purrr..." in switch.cs.

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Code

switch.cs
foreach (var species in Enum.GetValues<Species>())
{
    Console.WriteLine(species switch
    {
        Species.Cat => "Purrr...",
        Species.Dog => "Woof!",
        _ => "*Cthulhu noises*",
    });
}


enum Species { Unknown, Cat, Dog }

Output

Output
$ dotnet run switch.cs
*Cthulhu noises*
Purrr...
Woof!