Switch/Case flow-control in Python

[emuller]

Python does not have Switch/Case? statements, and likely never will.

Find out why in volume 2, issue 4 at  http://pythonpapers.org: Lance Finn Helsten, "Python Switch Statement"

How to get pythonic switch functionality?

{
      key_1:          function_1,
      key_2:          function_2,
      key_3: function_3,
      key_4: function_4
}.get(x, defaultFunction)()

Advantages of this structure are:

1. Any first-class type may be a key: including other functions.
2. Access is in constant time (O(1)).
3. There is a defaultFunction() to handle invalid keys.
4. Late binding of the functions allows for dynamic code.
5. The dictionary may be stored after it is created to improve speed (see article): the dictionary is interpreted a single time.
6. A dictionary may be selected and then a function generated from that dictionary (see article).