python for everyday tasks

[Chris Angelico]

On Thu, Nov 28, 2013 at 5:05 AM, Pavel Volkov <negaipub at gmail.com> wrote:
> "Got a switch statement? The Python translation is a hash table, not a bunch
> of if-then statments. Got a bunch of if-then's that wouldn't be a switch
> statement in Java because strings are involved? It's still a hash table. "

I actually disagree. There is no Python translation for a switch
statement. What you have is two ways (if/elif and dict lookup) to
implement what in other languages is often implemented with a switch.
Often, switch is used when a dispatch table is the ideal solution; but
other times, neither if/elif nor a dispatch table will perfectly cover
what you're trying to do, and it's not right to "translate" the switch
into a dict lookup. The right thing to do is to go back to what's
actually trying to be solved, and solve that.

ChrisA