The "switch-case" statement is a control flow statement used for multi-way branching. It provides a way to select one of many possible execution paths based on different cases or values of a variable or an expression.

Syntax:

switch (expression) {

case value1:

// Code block to be executed if expression matches value1

break;

case value2:

// Code block to be executed if expression matches value2

break;

// more case statements...

default:

// Code block to be executed if expression doesn't match any case

}

Example:

#include

using namespace std;

int main() {

int choice;

cout << "Menu:\n";

cout << "1. Option 1\n";

cout << "2. Option 2\n";

cout << "3. Option 3\n";

cout << "Enter your choice: ";

cin >> choice;

switch (choice) {

case 1:

cout << "You selected Option 1.\n";

break;

case 2:

cout << "You selected Option 2.\n";

break;

case 3:

cout << "You selected Option 3.\n";

break;

default:

cout << "Invalid choice.\n";

}

return 0;

}

Output:

Menu:

1. Option 1

2. Option 2

3. Option 3

Enter your choice: 2

You selected Option 2.

Applications of a switch statement:

1. Menu-driven programs: It is commonly used to implement menu-based user interfaces where different actions are performed based on the user's choice.

2. Handling multiple conditions: It provides an alternative to using multiple if-else statements when there are several distinct cases to consider.

3. Language compilers: Switch statements are often used in compilers to generate code based on the tokens or keywords encountered.

Advantages of a switch statement:

1. It enhances code readability by providing a concise way to handle multiple cases.

2. It improves code maintainability by grouping related cases together.

3. It can be more efficient than a series of if-else statements, especially when there are many cases, as the expression is evaluated only once.

Disadvantages of a switch statement:

1. It can only be used with certain data types (integer, character, enumeration) and not with floating-point numbers or strings.

2. It doesn't support range-based matching, so you can't check if a value falls within a specific range using a switch statement.

3. Nested switch statements can make code more complex and harder to understand.