Elpezmuerto
Elpezmuerto

Reputation: 5571

If block vs Switch-Case block

Generally is there a performance difference between using an if block with many else ifs compared to a switch case block? Do some languages or style conventions prefer one over the other?

Specifically I am curious about Matlab, C, and C++

Upvotes: 5

Views: 1320

Answers (2)

Michael Goldshteyn
Michael Goldshteyn

Reputation: 74340

A switch can be optimized by the compiler, in some cases, into a lookup table and branch. This could be considerably faster than multiple if/else-ifs.

Upvotes: 3

Lou Franco
Lou Franco

Reputation: 89152

In C, the optimizer can turn a switch into a calculated jmp, so it can be faster. This is possible because you always switch on an integer constant.

Upvotes: 1

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