equivalent series of if-then-else statements because it is:

; Easier to understand: And consequently easier to maintain: at least partially since it's fixed depth.

; Easier to debug: For example, setting breakpoints on code vs. a call table, if the debugger has no conditional breakpoint capability.

; Easier to verify: that all values are handled since a compiler can warn if a value is not handled.

; Can execute faster: An optimized implementation may