Processing: Creative Coding and Computational Art

PROCESSING: CREATIVE CODING AND COMPUTATIONAL ART
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switch (numberOfBurritosEaten){
case 0:
orderSuperBurrito(2);
break;
case 1:
orderSuperBurrito(1);
break;
case 2:
orderGrandeBurrito(1);
break;
case 3:
orderRegularBurrito(1);
break;
case 4:
orderTacos(2);
break;
case 5:
orderTacos(1);
break;
case 6:
orderDessert();
break;
default:
seekHelp();
break;
}
switch statements, unlike if...else if statements, can’t check a range, but rather check
for a specific value match. The condition inside the parentheses after the word switch
needs to be of type int, char, or byte. The int type is for integers (e.g., –5, 0, or 2300),
the char type is for individual characters on the keyboard (e.g., i, a, or /), and the byte
type is a subset of integers—values between 127 and –128. I tend to use int values
between the parentheses of my switch statements to keep things simple. In the newest
version of Java (1.5), as of this writing, you can also use what’s called an enumerated type
within the parentheses of switch statements (not currently in Processing). However,
enumerated types are an advanced concept that I’m not going to cover here.
When the switch statement runs, the value in the top parentheses is compared to each
case, from top to bottom. If there is a match, the code after the colon is executed until it
comes across a break. When it finds a break statement, the program exits the switch statement
and goes to the next line below the entire switch block. The break command is
optional, but if you don’t use it, the program will fall through and execute the code of the
next case, and continue checking all the remaining cases until it reaches the bottom of the
statement. In most instances, this would be a waste of processing power. The default
statement (also optional) at the end of the switch executes if no case matches were found.
The last break statement is unnecessary and harmless, but possibly helpful if you happen
to add more statements below and convert it to a case, so you don’t eventually forget to
add the break statement (a common error). I leave the choice to you.