Mastering Python : How To Simulate Match Case Statements

In this article, we'll take a look at Hide

1) Basic Match Case

2) Match with If Conditions (Guards)

3) Using OR (|) in Patterns

4) Matching Multiple Conditions with Tuples

5) Matching Values with Patterns

6) Match Case on Sequences

7) Match Case on Dictionaries (Mappings)

8) Match Case with Python Classes

9) Benefits of Match Case

10) Conclusion

In this tutorial, we’ll explain multiple ways to implement the Match Case In Python. Before we get started, if you want to Conditional Statements in Python, please go through the following article: Conditional Statements in Python.

Introduced in Python 3.10, the match case statement offers a powerful mechanism for pattern matching in Python. It allows us to perform more expressive and readable conditional checks. Unlike traditional if-elif-else chains, which can become unwieldy with complex conditions, the match case statement provides a more elegant and flexible solution.

Basic Match Case

value = "apple"

match value:
    case "apple":
        print("It's an apple!")
    case "banana":
        print("It's a banana!")
    case _:
        print("Unknown fruit")

value = "apple"

match value:

case "apple":

print("It's an apple!")

case "banana":

print("It's a banana!")

case _:

print("Unknown fruit")

This checks the value of value and prints a specific message based on the match. The underscore _ is a wildcard pattern that matches anything (like “else”).

Match with If Conditions (Guards)

num = 10

match num:
    case n if n < 0:
        print("Negative number")
    case n if n == 0:
        print("Zero")
    case n if n > 0:
        print("Positive number")

num = 10

match num:

case n if n < 0:

print("Negative number")

case n if n == 0:

print("Zero")

case n if n > 0:

print("Positive number")

Each case uses a guard condition (if) to check for additional logic beyond the pattern. Here, the value is categorized based on its sign.

Using OR (|) in Patterns

color = "red"

match color:
    case "red" | "blue":
        print("Primary color")
    case "green":
        print("Secondary color")
    case _:
        print("Unknown color")

color = "red"

match color:

case "red" | "blue":

print("Primary color")

case "green":

print("Secondary color")

case _:

print("Unknown color")

The | operator allows matching multiple values in one case. If color is either “red” or “blue”, it prints “Primary color”.

Matching Multiple Conditions with Tuples

point = (0, 0)

match point:
    case (0, 0):
        print("Origin")
    case (x, 0):
        print(f"X-axis at {x}")
    case (0, y):
        print(f"Y-axis at {y}")
    case (x, y):
        print(f"Point at ({x}, {y})")

point = (0, 0)

match point:

case (0, 0):

print("Origin")

case (x, 0):

print(f"X-axis at {x}")

case (0, y):

print(f"Y-axis at {y}")

case (x, y):

print(f"Point at ({x}, {y})")

Tuple destructuring is used to match coordinate points. You can match exact values or capture variables for later use, as seen with x and y.

Matching Values with Patterns

user = ("John", "Admin")

match user:
    case ("John", role):
        print(f"John's role is {role}")
    case (_, "User"):
        print("Generic user")
    case _:
        print("Unknown user")

user = ("John", "Admin")

match user:

case ("John", role):

print(f"John's role is {role}")

case (_, "User"):

print("Generic user")

case _:

print("Unknown user")

This pattern extracts values from a tuple and uses _ to ignore parts. In the first case, if the first value is “John”, the second part is captured as role.

Match Case on Sequences

items = ["apple", "banana"]

match items:
    case []:
        print("Empty list")
    case [first]:
        print(f"One item: {first}")
    case [first, second]:
        print(f"Two items: {first}, {second}")
    case [first, *rest]:
        print(f"First: {first}, Rest: {rest}")

items = ["apple", "banana"]

match items:

case []:

print("Empty list")

case [first]:

print(f"One item: {first}")

case [first, second]:

print(f"Two items: {first}, {second}")

case [first, *rest]:

print(f"First: {first}, Rest: {rest}")

This demonstrates pattern matching on list structures. It detects the list size and captures elements using destructuring. The *rest syntax captures remaining items.

Match Case on Dictionaries (Mappings)

person = {"name": "Alice", "age": 30}

match person:
    case {"name": "Alice", "age": age}:
        print(f"Alice is {age} years old.")
    case {"name": name}:
        print(f"Name found: {name}")
    case _:
        print("No match")

person = {"name": "Alice", "age": 30}

match person:

case {"name": "Alice", "age": age}:

print(f"Alice is {age} years old.")

case {"name": name}:

print(f"Name found: {name}")

case _:

print("No match")

This shows how dictionaries (mappings) can be pattern-matched by checking for specific keys. Values can be extracted and assigned to variables directly in the pattern.

Match Case with Python Classes

class Animal:
    def __init__(self, name): self.name = name

class Dog(Animal):
    def __init__(self, name, breed):
        super().__init__(name)
        self.breed = breed

class Cat(Animal): pass

pet = Dog("Max", "Labrador")

match pet:
    case Dog(name="Max", breed="Labrador"):
        print("Max the Labrador!")
    case Cat(name=name):
        print(f"A cat named {name}")
    case _:
        print("Unknown pet")

class Animal:

def __init__(self, name): self.name = name

class Dog(Animal):

def __init__(self, name, breed):

super().__init__(name)

self.breed = breed

class Cat(Animal): pass

pet = Dog("Max", "Labrador")

match pet:

case Dog(name="Max", breed="Labrador"):

print("Max the Labrador!")

case Cat(name=name):

print(f"A cat named {name}")

case _:

print("Unknown pet")

Python can match against class instances by checking their type and fields (if they follow the right signature or are dataclass-like). This example matches different subclasses of Animal and extracts fields.

Benefits of Match Case

Improved readability over long if-elif chains
Pattern matching on sequences, dictionaries, and classes
Supports guards, wildcards, and OR conditions
Clean handling of complex branching logic

Conclusion

Python’s match case brings powerful structural pattern matching to the language, making conditional logic more elegant and less error-prone. It’s particularly useful when working with complex data structures, parsing inputs, or handling different types of objects and responses.

It’s a feature worth learning and applying in modern Python codebases, especially for those coming from languages like Scala, Haskell, or Rust where pattern matching is idiomatic.