In this article, we will see one of the new features of Java 14 which are the Switch Expressions. Switch Expressions is an evolution of the Switch statement in Java, that was used as a decision code block.
1. Introduction
Below, are the subjects that we’ll look in the article:
- Traditional Switch case
- Switch Expressions in Java 14
- Using Lambdas
We start taking a look at the traditional way to make a switch case, and later we’ll do a refactor to use the switch expressions with Java 14 and also take the lambda expression to enhance our code.
2. Technologies Used
For this example, the technologies used are:
You can use any IDE or text editor of your knowledge, but make sure that supports JDK 14.
3. Hands-on
Now, let’s begin to work with this new feature, coding a few lines and refactoring later to get a good understanding.
3.1 Traditional Switch Case
First, we will create an enum that contains the days of week.
Enum
package example.com.srg;
public class SwitchExpressionsExample {
enum WEEK_DAYS { MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY};After that, let’s create a method with a basic switch case to go through this enum.
Swtich Case Traditional
private static String switchTraditional(WEEK_DAYS dayOfWeek) {
String result = null;
switch (dayOfWeek){
case MONDAY:
case TUESDAY:
case WEDNESDAY:
case THURSDAY:
case FRIDAY:
result = "Work day";
break;
case SATURDAY:
case SUNDAY:
result = "Rest day";
break;
default: result ="Invalid";
}
return result;
}
As we can see, it’s a basic switch case block that will break when matching the correct matching and have a default value if the value is invalid.
Let’s print the result creating a void main method to execute or switch method:
Main method
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println(switchTraditional(WEEK_DAYS.MONDAY));
}
The result is in the following:
/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk-14.0.1.jdk/Contents/Home/bin/java -javaagent:/Applications/IntelliJ IDEA CE.app/Contents/lib/idea_rt.jar=50526:/Applications/IntelliJ IDEA CE.app/Contents/bin -Dfile.encoding=UTF-8 -classpath /Users/slauriano/dev/java/out/production/java example.com.srg.SwitchExpressionsExample Work day Process finished with exit code 0
As expected, the result is printed as “Work day”.
3.2 Switch expressions in Java 14
Now, we’ll do a refactor in our code, creating a new method using the Java 14 Switch Expressions.
Switch Expression in Java 14
private static String switchJava14(WEEK_DAYS dayOfWeek) {
return switch (dayOfWeek) {
case MONDAY:
case TUESDAY:
case WEDNESDAY:
case THURSDAY:
case FRIDAY:
yield "Work day";
case SATURDAY:
case SUNDAY:
yield "Rest day";
};
}
We can see a new word called “yield” that was introduced in Java 12 and 13, but now can be fully used in Java 14. So, switch now is not just a block of code, but is an expression with a return. The yield word will make the return that could be also a logic to be executed inside.
Refactoring the void main method:
Main method
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println(switchJava14(WEEK_DAYS.MONDAY));
}
And the result again “Work day”:
/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk-14.0.1.jdk/Contents/Home/bin/java -javaagent:/Applications/IntelliJ IDEA CE.app/Contents/lib/idea_rt.jar=50630:/Applications/IntelliJ IDEA CE.app/Contents/bin -Dfile.encoding=UTF-8 -classpath /Users/slauriano/dev/java/out/production/java example.com.srg.SwitchExpressionsExample Work day Process finished with exit code 0
3.3 Using Lambdas
To improve our code, we can do another refactoring using lambda expressions in the switch expression:
Switch Expression with Lambda
SwitchingExpressionsExample.java
private static String switchEnhanced(WEEK_DAYS dayOfWeek) {
return switch (dayOfWeek) {
case MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY -> "Work day";
case SATURDAY, SUNDAY -> "Rest day";
};
}
As we notice, the yield word is not necessary anymore when using lambda arrow expression.
Changing the void main method:
Main method
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println(switchEnhanced(WEEK_DAYS.MONDAY));
}
And the result as expected:
/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk-14.0.1.jdk/Contents/Home/bin/java -javaagent:/Applications/IntelliJ IDEA CE.app/Contents/lib/idea_rt.jar=50630:/Applications/IntelliJ IDEA CE.app/Contents/bin -Dfile.encoding=UTF-8 -classpath /Users/slauriano/dev/java/out/production/java example.com.srg.SwitchExpressionsExample Work day Process finished with exit code 0
4. Summary
I this article, we could see how the switch case changed in Java 14, by refactoring the traditional way to do a switch case and also using a lambda expression with it. For more details about Switch Expressions, take a look on the JEP on this link.
5. Download the Source Code
You can download the full source code of this example here: Java 14 Switch Expressions
Nice!, great job!