Python Conditional Statements and Switch

Python Conditional Statements and Switch | Generated by AI

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Question: How do you write conditional code in Python using if, elif, and else? Does Python have a switch statement?

Answer:

Python uses if, elif, and else statements for conditional execution. Unlike many other languages, Python does not have a traditional switch statement until Python 3.10, which introduced the structural pattern matching feature (match and case) that can serve as a more powerful alternative to switch.

Basic if-elif-else syntax

x = 10

if x > 20:
    print("x is greater than 20")
elif x > 5:
    print("x is greater than 5 but not greater than 20")
else:
    print("x is 5 or less")

if checks the first condition.
elif (short for “else if”) checks additional conditions if previous ones are false.
else runs if none of the above conditions are true.
You can have any number of elif clauses, and else is optional.

Nested conditions

if x > 0:
    if x % 2 == 0:
        print("Positive even number")
    else:
        print("Positive odd number")
else:
    print("Non-positive number")

Switch-like behavior (Python 3.10+): match-case

Starting with Python 3.10, you can use match and case for pattern matching, which is often used as a switch replacement:

def http_status(status):
    match status:
        case 200:
            return "OK"
        case 404:
            return "Not Found"
        case 500:
            return "Internal Server Error"
        case _ :  # wildcard (default case)
            return "Unknown status"

print(http_status(200))  # Output: OK

The match statement is more powerful than traditional switch because it supports patterns like lists, dictionaries, guards, and more.

Older alternatives (before Python 3.10)

Common ways to simulate switch:

Using a dictionary:

def handle_command(cmd):
    return {
        'start': lambda: print("Starting..."),
        'stop':  lambda: print("Stopping..."),
        'pause': lambda: print("Pausing...")
    }.get(cmd, lambda: print("Unknown command"))()

handle_command('start')

Using if-elif chains (most common and readable for simple cases).

In most cases, if-elif-else is preferred for clarity unless you have many cases or need advanced pattern matching.

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