427: Highlights

• If you want a program to decide which of many alternative sequences of statements to evaluate, then instantiate the following pattern:

  switch (integer-producing expression) { 
    case integer constant 1: statements for integer 1 break; 
    case integer constant 2: statements for integer 2 break; 
    ... 
    default: default statements 
  } 
  

• In switch statements, you may omit the symbol default: and the default statements.
• In switch statements, the integer-producing expression can produce a value belonging to any of the integral data types.
• In switch statements, once embedded statement execution begins, execution continues up to the first embedded break statement or the end of the switch statement, whichever comes first. Bugs emerge when you forget to pair case symbols with break statements.
• If you want a program to stop, because an error has occurred, then tell C you intend to make use of the standard library, and then insert an exit statement:

  #include   
  ... 
  exit (0);