What is a match-case statement in Python?
Overview
In Python, a match-case statement is similar to a switch statement. We use a switch statement to transfer control to a particular block of code based on the value of the tested variable.
Note: Switch statements are an efficient alternative for if-else statements.
Refer Switch Statement in Java
The match-case statement is similar to switch statements in object-oriented languages and is meant to make matching a structure to a case more manageable. It’s more powerful and allows for more complicated pattern matching.
The structure of a match-case is as follows:
match variable:
case matching_value_1: statement_1
case matching_value_2: statement_2
case matching_value_3: statement_3
Let’s look at different examples to understand more.
Example 1
This example highlights a simple match-case statement.
character = 'A'
match character:
case 'A':
print("character is A")
case 'B':
print("character is B")
case 'C':
print("character is C")Example 2
We can also use a pipe operator | to specify multiple values that a case can match.
character = 'M'
match character:
case 'A' | 'Z':
print("character is A or Z")
case 'B' | 'D':
print("character is B or D")
case 'C' | 'M':
print("character is C or M")Example 3
We can add default cases to the match-case expressions in Python. As Python evaluates against a pattern, we can easily substitute a default case with a disposable underscore (_).
character = 'V'
match character:
case 'A' | 'Z':
print("character is A or Z")
case 'B' | 'D':
print("character is B or D")
case 'C' | 'M':
print("character is C or M")
case _:
print("Unknown character given")RELATED TAGS
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