Else If vs. Switch: Which Conditional Statement Offers Better Performance?

else if vs. switch: A Performance Comparison of Conditional Statements

Programmers frequently encounter situations requiring conditional execution based on specific criteria. Two popular methods are else if chains and switch statements. But which offers superior performance?

The performance difference between else if and switch is negligible with a few conditions. However, this gap widens significantly as the number of conditions grows.

else if statements evaluate conditions sequentially. In a lengthy chain, the final condition takes longer to reach if preceding conditions are false.

switch statements, particularly when handling numerous conditions, often employ jump tables or hash lists. This allows immediate access to the correct code block, irrespective of the case's position. All cases, therefore, exhibit similar execution times.

For applications with many conditions, switch statements generally provide better performance. else if remains a viable option for scenarios with only a small number of conditions.

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