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The essential guide to Python switch statements

Blog post from Tabnine

Post Details
Company
Date Published
Author
Tabnine Team
Word Count
1,180
Language
English
Hacker News Points
-
Summary

Switch statements, a common feature in many programming languages for handling selection control, were introduced in Python with version 3.10, marking a significant development for Python developers. Prior to Python 3.10, Python lacked native support for switch or case statements, which are generally more condensed and often faster than traditional if-else statements. The new switch statement functionality in Python is defined using "match" and "case" keywords, allowing developers to direct program flow based on scenarios and variables with improved readability and maintainability. This new feature supports various use cases, including dynamic values and complex conditions, enhancing code clarity by reducing repetitive comparison conditionals. As Python 3.10 was still in the early testing phase at the time of writing, the switch statement feature was anticipated to be fully released by October 10, 2021, with the expectation that users would transition from version 3.9 by mid-2022.