CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javaswitch-statement
Evan F
Evan F

Reputation: 61

switch statement using char in the case condition?

I'm trying to write a switch statement that uses a char to represent each case. In my textbook the examples show I can use a char to do this but when I compile my program I get this:

    StudentInvoiceListMenuApp.java:54: error: incompatible types
        case 'R':
             ^
    required: String
    found:    char
    1 error

This is my code: 

    switch (inputCode) {

        case 'R':
            System.out.println("\nEnter file name:");
            fileName = menuApp.nextLine();
            if (inputCode.trim().length() == 0) {
                break; // no file name entered
            }

Upvotes: 1

Views: 3763

Answers (4)

Jivings
Jivings

Reputation: 23260

inputCode is a String instance.

Upvotes: 0

Jigar Joshi
Jigar Joshi

Reputation: 240928

inputCode seems instance of String and you are trying to compare it with char,

String in switch is supported with and after java -7

Upvotes: 0

CrazyCasta
CrazyCasta

Reputation: 28362

The problem is that inputCode is a string. If you want to look at the first element of the string you should do:

switch (inputCode[0]) {

If you want to compare with a single character string you should do:

case "R":

Upvotes: 1

Jon Skeet
Jon Skeet

Reputation: 1502066

Looks like inputCode is of type String, not char... so if you're using Java 7, you just want to change it to:

case "R":

Alternatively, change the type of inputCode to char, making appropriate adjustments elsewhere. (If you're not using Java 7, this would be your only option - but I suspect you are using Java 7, as otherwise you'd get a different compiler error.)

Upvotes: 5

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