Match Expression

Definitions

1. A control-flow construct that compares a value against a series of patterns and executes the arm of the first match. Unlike switch statements, match expressions typically support destructuring, exhaustiveness checking, and guard clauses. Found in Rust, Scala, Elixir, Python 3.10+, and OCaml.

   In plain English: A smarter version of a switch statement that can pull apart data structures and forces you to handle every possible case.

   Example: "The Rust match expression on the Result covers both Ok and Err — the compiler won't let you forget a variant."

Related Terms

• Algebraic Data Type
• Borrowing
• Cargo
• Case Class
• Category
• Closure
• Option
• Tagged Union