Java switch : variable declaration and scope

How does the Java compiler handle the following switch block ? What is the scope of the 'b' variable ? Note that the 'b' variable is declared only in the first branch of the switch statement. Attempting to declare it in the second branch as well results in a "duplicate local variable" compilation error. ``` int a = 3; switch( a ) { case 0: int b = 1; System.out.println("case 0: b = " + b); break; case 1: // the following line does not compile: b may not have been initialized // System.out.println("case 1 before: b = " + b); b = 2; System.out.println("case 1 after: b = " + b); break; default: b = 7; System.out.println("default: b = " + b); } ``` Note: the above code compiles with a java 1.6 compiler.