What happens in a switch statement if a break statement is missing?

In a switch statement, if a break statement is missing, the execution of the code will continue into the next case. This behavior is known as "fall-through." When a match is found for a case, that case's block of code is executed, and if there's no break statement at the end of that block, the program continues to execute the code of the subsequent cases until it either encounters a break statement or reaches the end of the switch structure.

This allows multiple cases to share code, but it can also lead to unintended behavior if not handled carefully. It’s crucial for developers to use break statements appropriately to ensure that only the intended case block executes.

The option indicating that execution will stop immediately at the next branch is incorrect because it implies an immediate termination that doesn't account for the fall-through behavior. A compilation error does not occur due to a missing break; the code will compile but may exhibit unintended behavior. The default case is designed to catch any situations not explicitly handled by the other cases and will not be executed automatically in response to a missing break; it will only run if none of the specified cases match and the default is reached.