Switch statement in PowerShell

Switch statement in PowerShell

In PowerShell, a switch statement is a type of control flow statement that allows you to specify a list of values, and then choose one of several code blocks to execute based on the value that matches the specified input.

This allows you to write cleaner and more efficient code, by avoiding long chains of if-else statements.

Examples

Example 1

Here's an example of a switch statement in PowerShell:

$input = "Hello World"

switch ($input) {
"Hello World" {
Write-Output "The input is 'Hello World'"
}
"Goodbye World" {
Write-Output "The input is 'Goodbye World'"
}
default {
Write-Output "The input is something else"
}
}

In this example, the switch statement starts by defining the $input variable with the value Hello World. The switch keyword is followed by the $input variable in parentheses, which specifies the input that will be used to determine which code block to execute.

The switch statement contains three code blocks, each starting with a value in quotes:

1. The first code block is for the value Hello World.
2. The second code block is for the value Goodbye World.
3. The third code block is the default code block, which will be executed if the input does not match any of the other values.

In this example, the switch statement will execute the first code block, which contains the Write-Output cmdlet. This cmdlet will output the message The input is 'Hello World' to the console.

Example 2

You can also use the switch statement to match multiple values with a single code block.

Here's an example:

$input = "Hello"

switch ($input) {
"Hello" -or "Hi" -or "Howdy" {
Write-Output "The input is a greeting"
}
default {
Write-Output "The input is something else"
}
}

In this example, the switch statement starts by defining the $input variable with the value Hello. The switch keyword is followed by the $input variable in parentheses, which specifies the input that will be used to determine which code block to execute.

The switch statement contains two code blocks:

1. The first code block is for the values Hello, Hi, and Howdy. The -or operator is used to specify multiple values that will match the same code block.
2. The second code block is the default code block, which will be executed if the input does not match any of the other values.

In this example, the switch statement will execute the first code block, which contains the Write-Output cmdlet. This cmdlet will output the message The input is a greeting to the console.

Conclusion

The switch statement is a useful tool in PowerShell for choosing one of several code blocks to execute based on a specified input value. It allows you to write cleaner and more efficient code, by avoiding long chains of if-else statements.