PHP match Expression

The match expression was added in PHP 8.0. It compares one value with many options, and returns the result of the first option that matches.

Many developers see it as a shorter and safer version of the switch statement. You do not need break, and it gives you a value directly that you can store in a variable.

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Syntax

<?php
$result = match ($value) {
    option1 => result1,
    option2, option3 => result2,
    default => default_result,
};
?>

• PHP checks the value against each option from top to bottom.
• The result of first matching option is returned.
• Use a comma between options to check more than one value for the same result.
• The default option is optional, but it is good to use.
• A semicolon is required at the end because match is an expression, not a statement.

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Examples

Example #1: Day number to day name

In this example we have a day number. The match expression finds the matching number and returns the day name.

<?php
$day = 3;

$name = match ($day) {
    1 => "Monday",
    2 => "Tuesday",
    3 => "Wednesday",
    default => "Unknown day",
};

echo $name;
?>

Output:

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Example #2: Multiple values for one result

When many values should give the same result, separate them with a comma.

<?php
$day = 6;

$type = match ($day) {
    1, 2, 3, 4, 5 => "Weekday",
    6, 7 => "Weekend",
    default => "Invalid day",
};

echo $type;
?>

Output:

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Example #3: Using match(true) for ranges

Match cannot use conditions like >= directly. A common trick is to write match (true) and put the conditions as options. PHP returns the result of first condition that is true.

<?php
$marks = 82;

$grade = match (true) {
    $marks >= 90 => "A",
    $marks >= 75 => "B",
    $marks >= 50 => "C",
    default => "Fail",
};

echo $grade;
?>

Output:

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match vs switch

Both are used for decision making, but they do not work in same way.

Feature	switch	match
Comparison	Loose (==)	Strict (===)
Returns a value	No	Yes
break needed	Yes	No
No option matched	Does nothing silently	Throws UnhandledMatchError
Code per option	Many statements	One expression only

Strict comparison example

The value below is a string “1”. With switch, it would match case 1 because switch uses loose comparison. The match expression checks the type also, so only the string option matches.

<?php
$value = "1";

echo match ($value) {
    1 => "Integer one",
    "1" => "String one",
    default => "No match",
};
?>

Output:

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What if nothing matches?

If no option matches and there is no default, PHP throws an UnhandledMatchError. So it is better to add default, unless you really want the error.

<?php
$x = 10;

echo match ($x) {
    1 => "One",
    2 => "Two",
};
// Throws UnhandledMatchError because 10 is not handled
?>

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Summary

• match was added in PHP 8.0.
• It returns a value, so you can store it in a variable.
• It uses strict comparison (===).
• No break is needed.
• Use default to avoid UnhandledMatchError.

• Previous Page

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