What will happen if a break statement is omitted in a switch case?

Explanation:

In programming, a switch statement is a control structure that allows a variable to be tested for equality against a list of values. Each value is called a case, and the variable being switched on is checked for each case. Here, we will discuss what happens when a break statement is omitted in a switch case and analyze other possible options.

Correct Option Explanation:

Option 2: The next case will continue to be executed.

When a break statement is omitted in a switch case, the program does not stop the execution of the current case and continues executing the subsequent cases until it encounters a break statement or reaches the end of the switch block. This behavior is known as "fall-through." Fall-through can be useful in certain scenarios where multiple cases need to execute the same code, but it can also lead to logical errors if not used carefully.

Example:

switch (expression) {
    case 1:
        / Code for case 1
        / Missing break statement
    case 2:
        / Code for case 2
        break;
    case 3:
        / Code for case 3
        break;
    default:
        / Default code
}

In the above example, if the expression evaluates to 1, the code for case 1 will execute. However, because there is no break statement at the end of case 1, the code for case 2 will also execute immediately after, even if the expression is not 2. This can lead to unexpected behavior if the fall-through is unintended.

To avoid unintended fall-through, it is essential to include a break statement at the end of each case unless you explicitly want multiple cases to execute the same code block.62