programming-for-dummies

196
Making Multiple Choices with the SELECT CASE Statement
SELECT CASE Age
CASE 65
Status = Retired
CASE 21
Status – Working
CASE 15
Status = Student
END SELECT
The preceding SELECT CASE statement doesn’t do anything if the Age variable
is 13, 25, or 81. To make sure the SELECT CASE statement always runs
at least one command, you must add the ELSE statement, such as
SELECT CASE Age
CASE 65
Status = Retired
CASE 21
Status – Working
CASE 15
Status = Student
ELSE
Status = Bum
END SELECT
In this example, if the value of the Age variable is 24 or 5, it doesn’t match
any of the specific values, so the command under the ELSE statement runs
instead (Status = Bum).
Instead of using the ELSE statement, the curly bracket languages use a
default statement, such as
switch (age)
{
case 65: status = retired;
break;
case 21: status = working;
break;
case 15: status – student;
break;
default: status = bum;
}
Both the ELSE and default statements force the SELECT CASE
(or switch) statement to always do something.
As a general rule, use the IF-THEN statements for making the computer
choose one or more commands (or blocks of commands). If you need the