What is the correct way to write a switch statement in Ruby?

General Discussions
1

What is the correct way to write a switch statement in Ruby?

How can I implement a case when statement in Ruby to handle multiple conditions efficiently? What is the best practice for using the case when in Ruby syntax?

2

Basic case when Syntax : The case when statement in Ruby is similar to a switch statement in other languages like JavaScript or C. Here’s a basic example:

value = 2

case value
when 1
  puts "One"
when 2
  puts "Two"
when 3
  puts "Three"
else
  puts "Not in range"
end

This checks value against multiple conditions and executes the corresponding block. The else acts like a default case.

3

That’s a great starting point, but Ruby’s case when is even more powerful. You can use ranges and multiple values per condition:

score = 85

case score
when 90..100
  puts "Grade: A"
when 80..89
  puts "Grade: B"
when 70..79
  puts "Grade: C"
else
  puts "Needs Improvement"
end

This is great for checking number ranges without complex conditionals. You can also check against multiple values in a single when:

fruit = "apple"

case fruit
when "apple", "banana", "mango"
  puts "This is a fruit"
when "carrot", "broccoli"
  puts "This is a vegetable"
else
  puts "Unknown item"
end
4

Both are solid approaches, but here’s something cool—case can work like a series of if statements when no variable is provided:

age = 25

case 
when age < 18
  puts "You're a minor"
when age >= 18 && age < 65
  puts "You're an adult"
else
  puts "You're a senior citizen"
end

This is useful when you need condition-based logic rather than direct comparisons.