C++ How to Program, 10/e

12.5 Type Fields and switch Statements

One way to determine an object’s type is to use a switch statement to check the value of a field in the object. This allows us to distinguish among object types, then invoke an appropriate action for a particular object, similar to what you can do with polymorphism. For example, in a hierarchy of shapes, if each shape object has a shapeType attribute, a switch could check the object’s shapeType to determine which toString function to call.

Using switch logic exposes programs to a variety of potential problems. For example, you might forget to include a type test when one is warranted, or might forget to test all possible cases in a switch statement. When modifying a switch-based system by adding new types, ...