Java: Performance of Enums vs. if-then-else

Question

I\'ve had no real luck getting a concise answer for this comparison by using Google and rather than do my own time consuming evaluations, I thought I would ask first.

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Answer 1

In theory a switch statement can be optimised as a single calculated jump, whereas if-then-else chains have to remain as individual comparisons. I don't know whether Java actually performs this optimisation though.

Regardless, switches are better than if-then-else chains in terms of readability and maintainability, so use them anyway if possible.