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When handling the values of an enum on a case by case basis, is it better to use a switch statement or a dictionary?
I would think that the dictionary would be faster. In terms of space, it takes up some in memory, but the case statement would also take up some memory just in the memory needed for the program itself. So bottom line I'm thinking it's always better to just use the dictionary.
Here are the two implementations side by side for comparison:
Given these enums:
enum FruitType
{
Other,
Apple,
Banana,
Mango,
Orange
}
enum SpanishFruitType
{
Otra,
Manzana, // Apple
Naranja, // Orange
Platano, // Banana
Pitaya // Dragon fruit, only grown in Mexico and South American countries, lets say
// let's say they don't have mangos, because I don't remember the word for it.
}
Here is the way to do it with the switch statement:
private static SpanishFruitType GetSpanishEquivalent(FruitType typeOfFruit)
{
switch(typeOfFruit)
{
case FruitType.Apple:
return SpanishFruitType.Manzana;
case FruitType.Banana:
return SpanishFruitType.Platano;
case FruitType.Orange:
return SpanishFruitType.Naranja;
case FruitType.Mango:
case FruitType.Other:
return SpanishFruitType.Otra;
default:
throw new Exception("what kind of fruit is " + typeOfFruit + "?!");
}
}
And here is how it is done with a dictionary:
private static Dictionary<FruitType, SpanishFruitType> EnglishToSpanishFruit = new Dictionary<FruitType, SpanishFruitType>()
{
{FruitType.Apple, SpanishFruitType.Manzana}
,{FruitType.Banana, SpanishFruitType.Platano}
,{FruitType.Mango, SpanishFruitType.Otra}
,{FruitType.Orange, SpanishFruitType.Naranja}
,{FruitType.Other, SpanishFruitType.Otra}
};
private static SpanishFruitType GetSpani