coffeescript Conditionals Switch

Example

TL; DR: CoffeeScript switch statements use when for each case and else for the default case. They use then for one-line cases and commas for multiple cases with a single outcome. They intentionally disallow fallthrough and so don't need an explicit break (since it's always there implicitly). A switch statement can be used as a returnable, assignable expression.

CoffeeScript switch statements are a sort of control statement that allows you to take different actions based on a value. They are like if statements, but where an if statement usually takes one of two actions based on whether something is true or false, switch statements take one of any number of actions depending on the value of any expression - a string, number, or anything at all.

CoffeeScript switch start with the keyword switch followed by the expression to switch on. Then, each case is represented by the keyword when followed by the value for that case.

switch name
  when "Alice"
    # Code here will run when name is Alice
    callAlice()
  when "Bob"
    # Code here will run when name is Bob
    giveBobSandwich()

There is also a shorthand syntax for when each case is one line, using the then keyword instead of a newline:

livesLeft = 2
switch livesLeft
  when 3 then fullHealth()
  when 2 then healthAt 2
  when 1 then healthAt 1
  when 0 then playerDie()

You can mix and match the two formats as necessary:

livesLeft = 2
switch livesLeft
  when 3 then fullHealth()
  when 2 then healthAt 2
  when 1
    healthAt 1
    alert "Warning! Health low!"
  when 0 then playerDie()

Although the most common things to switch on are a variable (as in the previous example) or the result of a functoin, you can switch on any expression you choose:

indexOfAnswer = 0
switch indexOfAnswer + 1
  when 1 then console.log "The answer is the 1st item"
  when 2 then console.log "The answer is the 2nd item"
  when 3 then console.log "The answer is the 3rd item"

You can also have multiple cases lead to the same action:

switch password
  when "password", "123456", "letmein" then console.log "Wrong!"
  when "openpoppyseed" then console.log "Close, but no cigar."
  when "opensesame" then console.log "You got it!"

A very useful feature is a default or catch-all case, that will only execute if none of the other criteria are met. CoffeeScript signifies this with the else keyword:

switch password
  when "password", "123456", "letmein" then console.log "Wrong!"
  when "openpoppyseed" then console.log "Close, but no cigar."
  when "opensesame" then console.log "You got it!"
  else console.log "Not even close..."

(Note that you don't need the then keyword for the else case because there is no condition.)

Now here's an example of all the features of switch in action!

switch day
  when "Mon" then go work
  when "Tue" then go relax
  when "Thu" then go iceFishing
  when "Fri", "Sat"
    if day is bingoDay
      go bingo
      go dancing
  when "Sun" then go church
  else go work

You can also have the condition of a case be an expression:

switch fullName
  when myFullName() then alert "Doppelgänger detected"
  when presidentFirstName + " " + presidentLastName
    alert "Get down Mr. president!"
    callSecretService()
  when "Joey Bonzo" then alert "Joey Bonzo everybody"

CoffeeScript switch statements also have a unique trait: they can return values like a function. If you assign a variable to a switch statement, then it will be assigned whatever the statement returns.

address = switch company
  when "Apple" then "One Infinite Loop"
  when "Google" then "1600 Amphitheatre Parkway"
  when "ACME"
    if isReal
      "31918 Hayman St"
    else
      "Unknown desert location"
  else lookUpAddress company

(Remember that the last statement in a block is implicitly returned. You can also use the return keyword manually.)

Switch statements can also be used without a control expression, turning them in to a cleaner alternative to if/else chains.

score = 76
grade = switch
  when score < 60 then 'F'
  when score < 70 then 'D'
  when score < 80 then 'C'
  when score < 90 then 'B'
  else 'A'

(This is functionally equivalent to grade = switch true because the first case that evaluates to true will match. However, since each case implicitly breaks at the end, only the first case to match will be executed.)