PHP match Expression

The PHP match expression is used for the identity check of a value. It is similar to the switch statement i.e. it matches the expression with its alternative values. The match expressions are available in PHP 8.0.0. 

The match expression compares the value using a strict comparison operator (===) whereas the switch statement uses a loose comparison operator (==). 

Syntax:

return_value = match(expr) {
    key1 => val1,
    key2 => val2,
    ...
}

Note: The match expression must be ended with semicolons.

Example 1: The following code demonstrates the match expression in PHP.

PHP

<?php

  $sub = 'PHP';

  $val = match ($sub) {
      'HTML' => 'HTML Course',
      'CSS' => 'CSS Course',
      'PHP' => 'PHP Course',
      'JavaScript' => 'JS Course',
      'WebDev' => 'Complete Web Development'
  };

  var_dump($val);
?>

Output:

string(10) "PHP Course"

Example 2: The following code is another example of a PHP match expression.

PHP

<?php

  $marks = 78;

  $res = match (true) {
      $marks < 33 => 'Fail',
      $marks < 45 => 'Third Division',
      $marks < 60 => 'Second Division',
      $marks < 75 => 'First Division',
      $marks <= 100 => 'Distinction'
  };

  var_dump($res);
?>

Output:

string(11) "Distinction"

Reference: https://www.php.net/manual/en/control-structures.match.php