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Pattern Matching for switch (JEP 441)

September 6, 2025

๐Ÿš€ Java 21/25 brings a big upgrade to switch!
For years, switch was limited: only int, String, or enums โ€” and case labels had to be constants.
๐Ÿ‘‰ That meant verbose if/else chains and lots of casting.

With Pattern Matching for switch (JEP 441), we now get:
โœจ Case labels with patterns (records, classes, arrays)
โœจ Guarded patterns with when clauses
โœจ Qualified enum constants as cases
โœจ Null-friendly case labels
โœจ Exhaustiveness checking (esp. with sealed classes)

Result: Cleaner, safer, and more expressive branching in Java. ๐ŸŽ‰

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