Q: Which is more efficient, a switch statement or an if/else chain?
A: The differences, if any, are likely to be slight. The switch statement was designed to be efficiently implementable, though the compiler may choose to use the equivalent of an if/else chain (as opposed to a compact jump table) if the case labels are sparsely distributed.
Do use switch when you can: it's certainly cleaner, and perhaps more efficient (and certainly should never be any less efficient).
See also questions 20.17 and 20.18.
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