"if" doesn't work while "switch" does

Processing Beginners
2

switch () / case: blocks invoke equals() internally when dealing w/ String types.

You should do the same everywhere else:

  • String is an immutable datatype.
  • Each time you append a character to it another String object is created.
  • When we use the equality == operator we’re comparing if both String operands are the same object, not if they have the same content.
  • Java caches String literals.
  • That’s why we can use the equality == operator on literals.
  • Try out println(P3D == OPENGL); on the PDE.
  • It outputs true b/c both constants hold the same String literal object.
  • Another example: println(platformNames[3] == "linux");
  • However avoid using == or != for comparing strings b/c they’ll fail outside literal comparing cases.
  • Just use method equals() for 100% success: println("windows".equals(platformNames[1])); // outputs true
1 Like