Actually, Java does not require that in each case of a switch statement the last statement is a break.
Hence, in general, the form of a switch statement is the following.
Syntax:
switch (expression){
case label-1: statements-1
...
case label-n: statements-n
default: default-statements}
Semantics:
Example: More cases of a switch statement executed in sequence.
int sides; // maximum number of sides of a polygon (at most 6) ... System.out.print("Polygons with at most " + sides + " sides: "); switch (sides) { case 6: System.out.print("hexagon, "); case 5: System.out.print("pentagon, "); case 4: System.out.print("rectangle, "); case 3: System.out.println("triangle"); break; case 2: case 1: System.out.println("none"); break; default: System.out.println; System.out.println;("Please input a value <= 6."); }
If the value of sides is equal to 5, then the preceding code prints:
pentagon, rectangle, triangle
Note: When we omit the break statements, the order in which the various cases are written becomes important. This can easily cause errors.
Hence, it is a good programming practice to insert break as the last statement in each case.