Partial matching

Switch statement make use of partial matching.

let coordinates: (x: Int, y: Int, z: Int) = (3, 2, 5)

switch (coordinates) {
case (0, 0, 0): // 1
  print("Origin")
case (_, 0, 0): // 2
  print("On the x-axis.")
case (0, _, 0): // 3
  print("On the y-axis.")
case (0, 0, _): // 4
  print("On the z-axis.")
default:        // 5
  print("Somewhere in space")
}

1. Matches precisely the case where the value is (0,0,0). This is the origin of 3D space.
2. Matches y=0, z=0 and any value of x. This means the coordinate is on the x- axis.
3. Matches x=0, z=0 and any value of y. This means the coordinate is on they- axis.
4. Matches x=0, y=0 and any value of z. This means the coordinate is on the z- axis.
5. Matches the remainder of coordinates.

Note: using the underscore to mean that you don’t care about the value.

If you don’t want to ignore the value, then you can use it in your switch statement, like this:

let coordinates: (x: Int, y: Int, z: Int) = (3, 2, 5)

switch (coordinates) {
case (0, 0, 0):
  print("Origin")
case (let x, 0, 0):
  print("On the x-axis at x = \(x)")
case (0, let y, 0):
  print("On the y-axis at y = \(y)")
case (0, 0, let z):
  print("On the z-axis at z = \(z)")
case (let x, let y, let z):
  print("Somewhere in space at x = \(x), y = \(y), z = \(z)")
}

Here, the axis cases use the let syntax to pull out the pertinent values. The code then prints the values using string interpolation to build the string.

Note: you don’t need a default in this switch statement. This is because the final case is essentially the default—it matches anything, because there are no constraints on any part of the tuple. If the switch statement exhausts all possible values with its cases, then no default is necessary.

We can also use the let-where syntax to match more complex cases. For example:

let coordinates: (x: Int, y: Int, z: Int) = (3, 2, 5)

switch (coordinates) {
case (let x, let y, _) where y == x:
  print("Along the y = x line.")
case (let x, let y, _) where y == x * x:
  print("Along the y = x^2 line.")
default:
break
}

Here, We match the “y equals x” and “y equals x squared” lines.