design patterns - What are table-driven methods?

Question

What is a "table-driven method"?

As mentioned by Bill Gates in the second Windows Vista commercial at 1:05.

Answer 1

Table-driven methods are schemes that allow you to look up information in a table rather than using logic statements (i.e. case, if). In simple cases, it's quicker and easier to use logic statements, but as the logic chain becomes more complex, table-driven code is simpler than complicated logic, easier to modify and more efficient.

Reference: McConnell, Steve. Code Complete, Second Edition. Redmond (Washington): Microsoft, 2004. Print. Page 411, Paragraph 1.