Basic syntax of a switch statement :
switch (expression)
{
case value1:
// code to execute if expression equals value 1
break;
case value2;
//code to execute if expression equals value 2
break;
default:
// code to execute if none of the above cases match
}
Example :
$dayofweek =4;
switch($dayofweek)
{
case 1:
echo "its monday";
break;
case 2:
echo "its tuesday";
break;
case 3:
echo "its wedneshday";
break;
case 4:
echo "its thursday";
break;
case 5:
echo "its friday";
break;
default:
echo "its the weekend";
}
Basic syntax of a match statement:
$result = match ( expression)
{
value1 =>expression1, value2 => expression2, // additional cases
default=>expression_default
};
$dayofweek = 4;
$result=match ($dayofweek)
{
1=>"its monday",
2=>"its tuesday",
3=>"its wednesday",
4=>"its thursday",
5=>"its friday",
default=> "its the weekend"
}
echo $result; /// its thursday
The match expression in PHP is more type-safe compared to the switch statement. In a switch statement, loose type comparisons can lead to unexpected behavior, but the match expression enforces strict type checking. A match arm compares values strictly ( === ) instead of loosely as the switch statement does.
$value=1;
switch ($value)
{
case 1:
echo "integer 1";
break;
case "1":
echo "string '1'";
break;
}
// output integer 1
$value ="1";
$result=match($value){
1=>"integer 1",
"1"=>"string '1'",
};
echo $result;
// output : string '1'
In a switch statement, if you forget to use break after a case, execution "falls through" to the next case , potentially causing unintended behavior. The match expression doesn't have this issue.
the match expression enforces exhaustive checking, meaning you need to cover all possible cases. If you miss a case, PHP will generate a warning or error.
