I'm having some trouble with my switch statement

Question

Ok so I've been programming for a short time and I've already started making pretty nice programs. But when it comes to switches it's always luck when they actually work. I wrote this switch statement:

String answer1 = in.nextLine();

switch (answer1)
{
case 1:
        System.out.println("...");
        break;
case 2:
        System.out.println("...");
        break;
case 3:
        System.out.println("...");
        break;
}

And the switch labels next to the cases all said 'error cannot convert from int to string' could someone please help. Thanks Noob programmer~ Chase

Answer 1

You are trying to switch on a String , while the cases are int s. You need to parse the string before passing it to switch :

String answer1 = in.nextLine();
switch (Integer.parseInt(answer1)) {
    ...
}

Answer 2

Strings in switch are supported only from Java 7.

http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/technotes/guides/language/strings-switch.html

If you are using Java 7 and above then

switch (answer1)
{
case "1":
        System.out.println("...");
        break;
case "2":
        System.out.println("...");
        break;
case "3":
        System.out.println("...");
        break;

else you have to convert it to int as shown in the answer by @dasblinkenlight

Answer 3

You might need to verify the version of Java you're using. This was not possible on older versions of Java.

See: Why can't I switch on a String?

http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/java/nutsandbolts/switch.html

That is, if you intend to switch on String. See the below answer (@dasblinkenlight) if you do indeed expect an integer (You need to parse it).