Option 1 - switch using return function myFunction opt switch opt case 1 return One case 2 return Two case 3 return Three default return Option 2 - switch using break function myFunction opt var retVal switch opt case 1 retVal One break case 2 retVal Two break case 3 retVal Three break return retVal I know that both work but is one more of a best practice I tend to like Option 1 - switch using return best as it s cleaner and simpler Here is a jsFiddle of my specific example using the technique mentioned in ic3b3rg s comments var SFAIC SFAIC common masterPages cs CS cp CP contentPages cs CSContent cp CPContent function getElementPrefix page return page in SFAIC common masterPages SFAIC common masterPages page page in SFAIC common contentPages SFAIC common contentPages page undefined To call the function I would do so in the following ways getElementPrefix SFAIC common masterPages cs getElementPrefix SFAIC common masterPages cp getElementPrefix SFAIC common contentPages cs getElementPrefix SFAIC common contentPages cp Problem here is that it always returns undefined I m guessing that it s because it s passing in the actual value of the object literal and not the property What would I do to fix this using the technique described in ic3b3rg s comments

Is returning out of a switch statement considered a better practice than using break?

A break will allow you continue processing in the function. Just returning out of the switch is fine if that's all you want to do in the function.

~ Answered on 2011-05-24 17:13:45