Is it a good practice to use chained switch statements in c# ? If not, what alternative can there be ?

Question

In the following code I have used chained switch statements and I wonder if it's a good practice to do so?

https://code.sololearn.com/cMHkN062xa6H/?ref=app

Answer 1

In terms of rock-paper-scissors, there is a simple arithmetic solution.
You might enjoy this one:
https://therenegadecoder.com/code/rock-paper-scissors-using-modular-arithmetic/

Answer 2

Interisting solution, thanks Lisa . Haven't read through it but by the looks it's quite straightforward.

Thanks for clarificationRuntime Terror . I haven't learned about enums in c# yet.

Bob_Li what do you mean by lookup table?

Although logical flow is the same in each programming language , I haven't seen many data structures like lists & dictionaries, appart from arrays. This is something that pulls me back at the moment and something for me to look up in the near future.

I have a simple solution in python:

https://code.sololearn.com/cGBLSH8vKrkx/?ref=app

Answer 3

Example in C# using an enum, and a two-dimensional array as decision table.

string[] outcomes = {"Tie", "Player 1 wins", "Player 2 wins"};
int[,] judge = {{0, 2, 1}, {1, 0, 2}, {2, 1, 0}};
string result = outcomes[judge[(int)player1, (int)player2]];

https://code.sololearn.com/cOO4pVH1tKIn/?ref=app

Answer 4

modifying Tibor Santa's code to use the modulo math method.
It turned out to be more complex than I expected, because C# % operator in not the same as Python % for negative values.

https://code.sololearn.com/cin5iOhNCFCo/?ref=app

Answer 5

Lamron The way you used it here leads to lots of code repetition, so no, not good practice.
Maybe a single switch block in a function which returns an int, so you could call it for both inputs, then add some logic to compare the ints.

Answer 6

No no, I don't think it's a good practice to use switch statement, I only use it with enums.
An if-else or if-else if would be a good option and good practice, if you are working with number or any data types.
A switch statement would be (probably) useful when you are working with enums..
So, I believe using switch statement in this code is not necessary.Try with some if-else (if) statement (or make the switch statement in your code a bit shorter then prevent repetitions), then add some logic.

Answer 7

Emerson Prado I thought about creating a function which returns win/lose/tie to a user based on argument. But then I would have to write something like:

If((ComputerInput == UserInput) or (condition) or (condition))

I assumed that I would need to list all combinations 🤔

But yes, using a single switch statement and if statements is what I thought of. However, it would still cause code duplication. That's how I concluded to write a function and return a value...

Dragon RB didn't get to enums yet but will do soon.

Answer 8

It's indeed a good practise and ive seen many team including mine using long chain of switch for professional softwares. But hold, Emerson is right, this actual code you show has redundancy and switch isn't the best case. The numbers ranges from 1-3 inclusive and I would suggest creating an enum, then a single function that writes to the console based on the chosen.

Seems to be the job for an if-else if- else without chaining

Answer 9

a lookup table to determine the winner and a parametized output message would probably be simpler.
then there is the case when the user inputs invalid values or no value at all.

Answer 10

Lamron your python code can easily be converted to c#

Answer 11

Lamron
something like this:
you just have to parse the input into the form of the key. ("1 1", "1 2", etc)

https://code.sololearn.com/cFnvd498DQwL/?ref=app

Answer 12

Bob_Li , oh right, I see. As I said I just need to learn how to implement data structures in c#

Answer 13

they're worth the effort to study.

Answer 14

from Lisa's modulo method link, here is my Python version:

https://code.sololearn.com/cDVdOU93Vjsl/?ref=app

Answer 15

Tibor Santa Bob_Li Thanks for examples

Answer 16

Runtime Terror yes, it can. I've been following an example on the internet which has used if statements and a single switch statement. Guess I don't need to follow bad examples and do what I think is right 🤣