How does a case statement differ from an if statement?

The case statement is designed to evaluate a single expression against multiple potential values, which allows it to handle multiple outputs effectively. This capability makes it particularly useful when there are several distinct outcomes based on a single variable. For instance, if you're evaluating a variable for different categories, a case statement can provide a clean and organized way to specify actions for each category.

In contrast, if statements generally focus on evaluating a series of boolean conditions individually, which can make the code less concise when multiple conditions need to be checked against a single variable. By using a case statement, the structure of the code becomes clearer and easier to maintain when dealing with numerous outcomes.