Switch Statement gives Incompatible Types error

Question

I am trying to compile and I get this error:

enigma/Rotor.java:30: incompatible types found : java.lang.String required: int     switch(name){
1 error


        

Answer 1

You cannot switch over a String instance, only int (and byte/char/short, but not long/double), unless you have Java7+. Your best option now is to change to if else statements, like so:

if("B".equals(string)) {
    //handle string being "B"
} else if("C".equals(string)) {
    //handle string being "C"
} else ...

For more info on switching, see the Oracle tutorial. They mention the Java7 String functionality:

In Java SE 7 and later, you can use a String object in the switch statement's expression.

Answer 2

switch(name)

switch statement with String is supported from Java7 onwards only.

I guess the compiler version you are using is less than Java7

Options:

1. You need to either upgrade to Java7
2. Change switch statement to if/else
3. Use int in switch instead of String

Answer 3

In Java, you can only do a switch on byte, char, short, or int, and not a String.

Answer 4

If you are using maven project then simply you can add following piece of code to ypur pom.xml and resolve your problem :

 <build>
        <plugins>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
                <configuration>
                    <source>1.8</source>
                    <target>1.8</target>
                </configuration>
            </plugin>
        </plugins>
    </build>

Answer 5

switch accepts a String from java 7. prior to java 7 only int compatible types (short,byte,int, char) can be passed as switch arguments