Java Coding Problems

55. Switch expressions

Before we have a brief overview of the switch expressions introduced in JDK 12, let's see a typical old-school example wrapped in a method:

private static Player createPlayer(PlayerTypes playerType) {  switch (playerType) {    case TENNIS:      return new TennisPlayer();    case FOOTBALL:      return new FootballPlayer();    case SNOOKER:            return new SnookerPlayer();    case UNKNOWN:      throw new UnknownPlayerException("Player type is unknown");    default:      throw new IllegalArgumentException(        "Invalid player type: " + playerType);  }}

If we forget about default, then the code will not compile.

Obviously, the preceding example is acceptable. In the worst-case scenario, we can add a spurious variable (for example, player), some cluttering break statements, ...