Emulating switch/case Statements in Python

Python doesn’t have switch/case statements so it’s often necessary to write long if/elif/else chains as a workaround. Here’s a little trick you can use to emulate switch/case statements in Python using dictionaries and first-class functions.

Basically we’re using Python dictionaries as a lookup table to replace a nested “if elif else” statement with a cleaner and more maintainable implementation.

In some cases this can be faster than if-then-else chains and easier to maintain, too. To see if this method is right for you watch the video tutorial and learn how to apply this technique to write nice and clean Python.