C# – using the ‘is’ keyword in a switch in c#

c++switch-statement

I'm currently adding some new extended classes to this code:

foreach (BaseType b in CollectionOfExtendedTypes) {
  if (b is ExtendedType1) {
    ((ExtendedType1) b).foo = this;

  }
  else if (b is ExtendedType2) {
    ((ExtenedType2) b).foo = this;

  } 
  else {
    b.foo = this;

  }
}

and was curious if there is a way to use the is keyword functionality in a switch statement?

Best Solution

The latest version of C# (7) now includes this functionality

Type pattern

The type pattern enables concise type evaluation and conversion. When used with the switch statement to perform pattern matching, it tests whether an expression can be converted to a specified type and, if it can be, casts it to a variable of that type. Its syntax is:

   case type varname

Related Solutions

C# – the difference between String and string in C#

string is an alias in C# for System.String.
So technically, there is no difference. It's like int vs. System.Int32.

As far as guidelines, it's generally recommended to use string any time you're referring to an object.

e.g.

string place = "world";

Likewise, I think it's generally recommended to use String if you need to refer specifically to the class.

e.g.

string greet = String.Format("Hello {0}!", place);

This is the style that Microsoft tends to use in their examples.

It appears that the guidance in this area may have changed, as StyleCop now enforces the use of the C# specific aliases.

Python – Replacements for switch statement in Python

The original answer below was written in 2008. Since then, Python 3.10 (2021) introduced the match-case statement which provides a first-class implementation of a "switch" for Python. For example:

def f(x):
    match x:
        case 'a':
            return 1
        case 'b':
            return 2
        case _:        
            return 0   # 0 is the default case if x is not found

The match-case statement is considerably more powerful than this simple example.

You could use a dictionary:

def f(x):
    return {
        'a': 1,
        'b': 2,
    }[x]

Best Solution

Related Solutions

C# – the difference between String and string in C#

This is the style that Microsoft tends to use in their examples.

Python – Replacements for switch statement in Python

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