VB.NET Switch Statement GoTo Case

Question

I am writing some code in VB.NET that uses a switch statement but in one of the cases it needs to jump to another block. In C# it would look like this:

switch (parameter)
{
    case "userID":
        // does something here.
    case "packageID":
        // does something here.
    case "mvrType":
        if (otherFactor)
        {
            // does something here.
        }
        else
        {
            goto default;
        }
    default:
        // does some processing...
        break;
}

However, I don't know how to convert this to VB.NET. I tried this:

Select Case parameter 
    Case "userID"
        ' does something here.
    Case "packageID"
        ' does something here.
    Case "mvrType" 
        If otherFactor Then 
            ' does something here. 
        Else 
            GoTo Case Else 
        End If 
    Case Else 
        ' does some processing... 
        Exit Select 
End Select     

But when I do this I get a compiler error: "Identifier expected". There'sa squiggly line under "Case". Any ideas?

Also, is it wrong to use a GoTo statement in this case? It seems any other way I would have to re-write it.

---

I have changed my code to as follows:

If otherFactor AndAlso parameter = "mvrType" Then 
    'does something here 
Else 
    ' My original "Select Case statement" here without the case for "mvrType" 
End If

Answer 1

Select Case parameter 
    Case "userID"
        ' does something here.
    Case "packageID"
        ' does something here.
    Case "mvrType" 
        If otherFactor Then 
            ' does something here.
        End If 
    Case Else 
        ' does some processing... 
        Exit Select 
End Select

Is there a reason for the goto? If it doesn't meet the if criterion, it will simply not perform the function and go to the next case.

Answer 2

Select Case parameter 
    ' does something here. 
    ' does something here. 
    Case "userID", "packageID", "mvrType" 
        If otherFactor Then 
            ' does something here. 
        Else 
            goto case default 
        End If 
    Case Else 
        ' does some processing... 
        Exit Select 
End Select

Answer 3

I'm not sure it's a good idea to use a GoTo but if you do want to use it, you can do something like this:

Select Case parameter 
    Case "userID"
        ' does something here.
    Case "packageID"
        ' does something here.
    Case "mvrType" 
        If otherFactor Then 
            ' does something here. 
        Else 
            GoTo caseElse
        End If 
    Case Else
caseElse:
        ' does some processing... 
End Select

As I said, although it works, GoTo is not good practice, so here are some alternative solutions:

Using elseif...

If parameter = "userID" Then
    ' does something here.
ElseIf parameter = "packageID" Then
    ' does something here.
ElseIf parameter = "mvrType" AndAlso otherFactor Then
    ' does something here.
Else
    'does some processing...
End If

Using a boolean value...

Dim doSomething As Boolean

Select Case parameter
Case "userID"
     ' does something here.
Case "packageID"
     ' does something here.
Case "mvrType"
     If otherFactor Then
          ' does something here. 
     Else
          doSomething = True
     End If
Case Else
     doSomething = True
End Select

If doSomething Then
     ' does some processing... 
End If

Instead of setting a boolean variable you could also call a method directly in both cases...

Answer 4

Why don't you just refactor the default case as a method and call it from both places? This should be more readable and will allow you to change the code later in a more efficient manner.

Answer 5

In VB.NET, you can apply multiple conditions even if the other conditions don't apply to the Select parameter. See below:

Select Case parameter 
    Case "userID"
                ' does something here.
        Case "packageID"
                ' does something here.
        Case "mvrType" And otherFactor
                ' does something here. 
        Case Else 
                ' does some processing... 
End Select

Answer 6

Select Case parameter
    ' does something here.
    ' does something here.
    Case "userID", "packageID", "mvrType"
                ' does something here.
        If otherFactor Then
        Else
            goto case default
        End If
    Case Else
        ' does some processing...
        Exit Select
End Select