More with the Switch Statement

[Everyman]

Okay, last week I had problem similar to this with the switch statement:



"In the Happy Valley School System, children are classified by age as follows:

• less than 2, ineligible
• 2, toddler
• 3-5, early childhood
• 6-7, young reader
• 8-10, elementary
• 11 and 12, middle
• 13, impossible
• 14-16, high school
• 17-18, scholar
• greater than 18, ineligible

Given an int variable age , write a switch statement that prints out, on a line by itself, the appropriate label from the above list based on age."

My code:

switch (age)
{
case x<2;
  System.out.println("ineligible");
  break;

case 3, 4, 5;
  System.out.println("early childhood");
  break;

case 6, 7;
  System.out.println("young reader");
  break;

case 8, 9, 10;
  System.out.println("elementary");
  break;

case 11, 12;
  System.out.println("middle");
  break;

case 13;
  System.out.println("impossible");
  break;

case 14, 15, 16;
  System.out.println("high school");
  break;

case 17, 18;
  System.out.println("scholar");
  break;

case 18<x;
  System.out.println("ineligible");
}

I thought I knew what I was doing (and that may not be correct), but this is what MyProgrammingLab thinks:

When we compiled your code with our code (to test for errors), the following compiler error messages were produced (red text, if present, can be clicked for additional information):

CTest.java:10: : expected
case x<2;
^
CTest.java:14: : expected
case 3, 4, 5;
^
CTest.java:18: : expected
case 6, 7;
^
CTest.java:22: : expected
case 8, 9, 10;
^
CTest.java:26: : expected
case 11, 12;
^
CTest.java:30: : expected
case 13;
^
CTest.java:34: : expected
case 14, 15, 16;
^
CTest.java:38: : expected
case 17, 18;
^
CTest.java:42: : expected
case 18<x;
^
9 errors

Can anyone help me with this problem?

[KevinWorkman]

Much of that is not valid syntax for a switch statement. Recommended reading: The switch Statement (The Java™ Tutorials > Learning the Java Language > Language Basics)

[Everyman]

Much of that is not valid syntax for a switch statement. Recommended reading: The switch Statement (The Java™ Tutorials > Learning the Java Language > Language Basics)

Thanks. I am re-writing the code now.

[Everyman]

Much of that is not valid syntax for a switch statement. Recommended reading: The switch Statement (The Java™ Tutorials > Learning the Java Language > Language Basics)

This is what I got:

switch (age)
{
case 0: case 1:
  System.out.println("ineligible");
  break;

case 2:
  System.out.println("toddler");
  break;

case 3: case 4: case 5:
  System.out.println("early childhood");
  break;

case 6: case 7:
  System.out.println("young reader");
  break;

case 8: case 9: case 10:
  System.out.println("elementary");
  break;

case 11: case 12:
  System.out.println("middle");
  break;

case 13:
  System.out.println("impossible");
  break;

case 14: case 15: case 16:
  System.out.println("high school");
  break;

case 17: case 18:
  System.out.println("scholar");
  break;

case >18:
  System.out.println("ineligible");

}

But when I submit this to MyProgrammingLab, I get this:

CTest.java:46: illegal start of expression

What exactly is illegal? For future references...

[KevinWorkman]

You're still using invalid syntax. You shouldn't use inequalities (<, >, ==, etc) in a switch statement.

[Beattie282]

// I removed my answer because it did no answer the question at hand, sorry

[KevinWorkman]

I don't think the above advice takes the point of the assignment into consideration. You are supposed to switch on an age, not a set of cases given some range of ages as predefined cases. I appreciate that you're trying to help, but you might be more mindful of what the question is actually asking before you post a full solution like that.

[jlczuk]

To summarize, you needed to use ':' instead of ';' after each case statement and as pointed out, you cannot use any type of operation as part of the case statement.

Read the tutorial that KevinWorkman linked you to very carefully. The first paragraph tells you exactly what types you can use for your case statements.

<opinion>
I think switch statements are more readable and serviceable if you use this stylistic form versus having each of them side-by-side.

switch (age)
{
case 0: 
case 1:
  System.out.println("ineligible");
  break;
 ...

</opinion>

[Beattie282]

I don't think the above advice takes the point of the assignment into consideration. You are supposed to switch on an age, not a set of cases given some range of ages as predefined cases. I appreciate that you're trying to help, but you might be more mindful of what the question is actually asking before you post a full solution like that.

well if the same answer is given for a range of ages whats the point of having the other assignments? am assuming this is what you mean?
dont get me wrong i know what you mean say if the user puts in 5 it wont know what to do but i said if you are using a drop down menu :)

i got taught when ever you can take a choice of the user do it because their idots so i like to simplify things.

[KevinWorkman]

well if the same answer is given for a range of ages whats the point of having the other assignments? am assuming this is what you mean?
dont get me wrong i know what you mean say if the user puts in 5 it wont know what to do but i said if you are using a drop down menu :)

Right, that makes sense for a "real" program, but this is an assignment designed to explore switch statements. I believe the OP would get points taken off for doing it your way, as it goes around the original statement of the program.

i got taught when ever you can take a choice of the user do it because their idots so i like to simplify things.

"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." - Hanlon's razor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[jlczuk]

well if the same answer is given for a range of ages whats the point of having the other assignments? am assuming this is what you mean?
dont get me wrong i know what you mean say if the user puts in 5 it wont know what to do but i said if you are using a drop down menu :)

i got taught when ever you can take a choice of the user do it because their idots so i like to simplify things.

Beattie,

Taking the original poster at their word, the assignment was very explicit. "Given an int variable age , write a switch statement that prints out, on a line by itself, the appropriate label from the above list based on age."

The OP's approach, with a few minor problems is concise and clear. By encoding age ranges beforehand, you've taken a simple requirement and made it more complex and thus more prone to error. Like using '<' instead of '>'. To handle the last case of "greater than 18", that would be satisfied quite simply as the default clause, assuming the teacher clarified that checking for inputs less than or equal to zero was not necessary.

Oh, and overloading the age variable like you did....very very very bad idea.

[Everyman]

I got it! I got it!

switch (age)
{
case 0: case 1:
  System.out.println("ineligible");
  break;

case 2:
  System.out.println("toddler");
  break;

case 3: case 4: case 5:
  System.out.println("early childhood");
  break;

case 6: case 7:
  System.out.println("young reader");
  break;

case 8: case 9: case 10:
  System.out.println("elementary");
  break;

case 11: case 12:
  System.out.println("middle");
  break;

case 13:
  System.out.println("impossible");
  break;

case 14: case 15: case 16:
  System.out.println("high school");
  break;

case 17: case 18:
  System.out.println("scholar");
  break;

default: //This was the main error.
  System.out.println("ineligible");
}

[jlczuk]

Everyman,

Do you think that you really need case 0 and 1, or are those perhaps already covered by another case?

[Everyman]

Everyman,

Do you think that you really need case 0 and 1, or are those perhaps already covered by another case?

Actually, now that I think about it, its not absolutely necessary is it? Wouldn't that just be wasting space?

[jlczuk]

It's not incorrect, just unnecessary. Your cases should only differentiate what they really need to and let the default take care of everything else.

It would be more readable if you changed from

case 2: case 3:

to

case 2:
case 3:

As I mentioned in a previous post, that is just a stylistic recommendation that makes your code easier to read. The goal is not necessarily to have the most compact code in terms of the number of lines.

[Everyman]

Thanks, man. My teacher is kinda hard on that stuff. And thanks to all that have assisted me thus far.

(I shall not forget you...)