What must be true about the branches in a Switch statement?

In a Switch statement, each branch must evaluate distinct conditions to function correctly. This means that no two branches can share the same condition; if they did, the outcome would be ambiguous, as it wouldn't be clear which branch should execute. The design of a Switch statement inherently relies on having unique conditions that allow the control flow to direct to the appropriate branch based on the evaluated value.

While it might seem that executing branches sequentially or requiring all branches to evaluate to true could be logical approaches, such mechanisms do not align with the fundamental design and purpose of a Switch statement. The Switch structure is specifically intended to facilitate decision-making based on discrete conditions, not a sequential flow or collective truth evaluations. Furthermore, the design goal of a Switch statement is that only one branch executes based on the condition match, making it clear that each branch must be distinct.