Choosing if, for, or switch in Go

Direct Answer

Use if for a direct true-or-false decision, for for repeated work, and switch for several related cases. The constructs can sometimes express the same logic, so choose the one that makes the intention easiest to understand.

Deep Dive & Architecture

Go uses if for decisions, for for repetition, and switch for choosing between several related cases.

for is Go's only loop keyword, and a switch stops after the first matching case unless fallthrough is written explicitly.

Use if for a direct true-or-false decision, for for repeated work, and switch for several related cases. The constructs can sometimes express the same logic, so choose the one that makes the intention easiest to understand.

Common mistakes include writing an endless loop accidentally, expecting switch cases to fall through, hiding errors in deeply nested conditions, and misunderstanding variables created inside if or switch. Keep branches shallow, make loop exits visible, and test boundary conditions.

Code Example

if input == "" { return ErrMissingInput }
for _, item := range items { process(item) }
switch status {
case Active: run()
case Blocked: stop()
}

Common Mistakes & Pitfalls

Using deeply nested if statements when a guard clause or switch would make the path clearer.