Name and describe three types of branching mechanisms and give an example of each.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Three types of branching mechanisms include the if-else statement, the multi-way if-else
statement, and the switch statement. An if-else statement chooses between two alternative
statements based on the value of a Boolean expression. If you only need to perform an action if a
certain condition is true, then the else part of an if-else statement can be omitted. A multi-way if-
else statement allows several conditions to be evaluated. The first condition that evaluates to true, is
the branch that is executed. The switch statement is another multi-selection branching mechanism.
A switch evaluates a controlling expression and executes the statements in the matching case label.
```
If – else example: if ( taxableIncome > 30000)
taxRate = .135;
else
taxRate = .075;

Multi-way if-else example:

If(taxableIncome < 10000)
taxRate = .0425;
else if(taxableIncome < 30000)
taxRate = .075;
else
taxRate = .135;

Switch example: char myChar = ‘b’;
switch(myChar)
{
case ‘a’:
System.out.println(“It is an A”);
break;

case ‘b’:

System.out.println(“It is a B”);

break;
case default:

System.out.println(“Default case”);
break;

}
```