21.1 A Quick Comparison: C’s switch vs. Rust’s match

In C, a switch statement is restricted mostly to integral or enumeration values. It can handle multiple cases and a default, but it has some well-known pitfalls:

  • Fall-through hazards, requiring explicit break statements to avoid accidental case continuation.
  • Limited pattern matching, focusing on integer or enum comparisons only.
  • Non-exhaustive by design—you can omit cases and still compile.

Rust’s match, on the other hand:

  • Enforces Exhaustiveness: You must cover every variant of an enum or use a catch-all wildcard (_).
  • Handles Complex Data: You can destructure tuples, structs, enums, and more right within the pattern.
  • Allows Boolean Guards: Add extra conditions to refine when a branch matches.
  • Binds Sub-values: Extract parts of the matched data into variables automatically.

Because of this, match in Rust is both safer and more expressive than a typical C switch.