PHP, and many other programming languages, support positional parameters: The caller passes the parameters in the same order the function/method declares its parameters.
In PHP 8.0, Named Parameters support is added, which means it’s now possible to call a function/method by setting the parameters by their name.
Named Arguments (introduced in PHP 8) let you pass values to a function by specifying parameter names, instead of relying only on the order of arguments.
This makes your code:
More readable
More flexible (you can skip optional parameters)
Less error-prone when functions have many parameters
Example: Without Named Arguments
<?php
function createUser(string $name, int $age, bool $isAdmin = false) {
return "$name is $age years old. Admin: " . ($isAdmin ? 'Yes' : 'No');
}
// Call (must follow parameter order)
echo createUser("Alice", 30, true);
?>
Here, you need to pass all arguments in order, even if you only want to change the last one.Example: With Named Arguments (PHP 8+)
<?php
function createUser(string $name, int $age, bool $isAdmin = false) {
return "$name is $age years old. Admin: " . ($isAdmin ? 'Yes' : 'No');
}
// Call using names
echo createUser(age: 30, name: "Alice", isAdmin: true);
?> Parameters can be passed in any order.
Optional parameters can be skipped:
<?php echo createUser(name: "Bob", age: 25); // isAdmin defaults to false ?>Combining Positional + Named Arguments
<?php
function sendMail(string $to, string $subject, string $message, bool $isHtml = false) {}
sendMail("test@example.com", "Hello", message: "Welcome!", isHtml: true);
?>
Rule: Positional arguments must come first, then named arguments.Restrictions
No duplicate names
// ❌ Error
createUser(name: "Alice", name: "Bob", age: 30);Cannot mix positional after named
<?php
// ❌ Error
createUser(name: "Alice", 30);
?>Relies on parameter names → changing parameter names in function definition can break external calls using named arguments.
Benefits of Named Arguments
Clearer and more self-documenting function calls
Reduces mistakes with many optional parameters
Great for functions with default values and configuration-like options