Switch vs if comparison - Hands-On Comparison

Switch vs if comparison

📖 Scenario: Imagine you are creating a simple program that tells the day of the week based on a number. You want to see how using switch and if statements can both solve this problem.

🎯 Goal: Build a program that takes a number from 1 to 7 and prints the corresponding day of the week using both switch and if statements.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create an integer variable called day with a value of 3

Use a switch statement with day to print the correct day name

Use an if statement with day to print the correct day name

Print the results for both switch and if methods

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Choosing actions based on a value is common in programs, like menus or commands.

💼 Career

Understanding switch and if statements is essential for writing clear and efficient code in many programming jobs.

1

Create the day variable

Create an integer variable called day and set it to 3.

C

// Create an integer variable called day and set it to 3
// Your code here

Need a hint?

Use int day = 3; to create the variable.

2

Add a switch statement for day

Add a switch statement using the variable day to print the day name for 1 to 7. For 3, print "Wednesday". Use printf inside each case.

C

#include 

int main() {
    int day = 3;
    // Add switch statement here
    // Your code here
    return 0;
}

Need a hint?

Use switch(day) { case 1: ... } and printf for each day.

3

Add an if statement for day

Add an if statement using the variable day to print the day name for 1 to 7. For 3, print "Wednesday". Use printf inside each condition.

C

#include 

int main() {
    int day = 3;
    switch(day) {
        case 1:
            printf("Monday\n");
            break;
        case 2:
            printf("Tuesday\n");
            break;
        case 3:
            printf("Wednesday\n");
            break;
        case 4:
            printf("Thursday\n");
            break;
        case 5:
            printf("Friday\n");
            break;
        case 6:
            printf("Saturday\n");
            break;
        case 7:
            printf("Sunday\n");
            break;
        default:
            printf("Invalid day\n");
    }
    // Add if statement here
    // Your code here
    return 0;
}

Need a hint?

Use if(day == 1) { ... } else if(day == 2) { ... } and so on.

4

Print the final output

Run the program and observe the output. It should print Wednesday twice, once from the switch and once from the if statement. Write a printf statement before each to label them as Switch: and If:.

C

#include 

int main() {
    int day = 3;
    // Print label for switch
    // Your code here
    switch(day) {
        case 1:
            printf("Monday\n");
            break;
        case 2:
            printf("Tuesday\n");
            break;
        case 3:
            printf("Wednesday\n");
            break;
        case 4:
            printf("Thursday\n");
            break;
        case 5:
            printf("Friday\n");
            break;
        case 6:
            printf("Saturday\n");
            break;
        case 7:
            printf("Sunday\n");
            break;
        default:
            printf("Invalid day\n");
    }

    // Print label for if
    // Your code here
    if(day == 1) {
        printf("Monday\n");
    } else if(day == 2) {
        printf("Tuesday\n");
    } else if(day == 3) {
        printf("Wednesday\n");
    } else if(day == 4) {
        printf("Thursday\n");
    } else if(day == 5) {
        printf("Friday\n");
    } else if(day == 6) {
        printf("Saturday\n");
    } else if(day == 7) {
        printf("Sunday\n");
    } else {
        printf("Invalid day\n");
    }

    return 0;
}

Need a hint?

Use printf("Switch: "); before the switch and printf("If: "); before the if.