Match Expression: How to Use in PHP 8 for Cleaner Code

The match expression, introduced in PHP 8.0, offers a modern way to handle multiple conditional checks.

The new match expression in PHP 8 is a control flow structure that matches a given subject expression with one or more alternative conditional expressions using identity comparison and returns a value from the matched branch.

Match expression syntax is one of the nicest features in PHP 8 that improves the switch syntax in multiple ways.

Key Differences Between Match and Switch

Both switch and match in PHP are used to check conditions and run code. But there are some important differences:

Strict Comparison (===)

In switch, PHP uses loose comparison (==).
Example: switch will treat "5" (string) and 5 (number) as the same.
In match, PHP uses strict comparison (===).
Example: "5" (string) and 5 (number) are not the same.

No Need of break

In switch, you must write break after every case, otherwise PHP will continue to the next case.
In match, no need to write break. Only the matched condition runs.

Match Can Return a Value Directly

switch only executes code, you need extra lines to store a result.
match can return values directly and can be used in expressions.

More Compact and Clean

switch code is usually longer with multiple cases and breaks.
match makes the same logic short and clean.

Example: Switch vs Match

Using switch

<?php
$number = 2;
switch ($number) {
    case 1:
        $result = "One";
        break;
    case 2:
        $result = "Two";
        break;
    default:
        $result = "Other";
}
echo $result; // Output: Two
?>

Using match

<?php
$number = 2;
$result = match ($number) {
    1 => "One",
    2 => "Two",
    default => "Other",
};
echo $result; // Output: Two
?>

PHP 8 Match vs Switch: Quick Comparison

Feature	Switch	Match
Comparison	Uses loose comparison (`==`)	Uses strict comparison (`===`)
Break Required	Yes, must write `break` after each case	No `break` needed
Return Value	Cannot return directly, need extra code	Can return a value directly
Code Length	Longer and repetitive	Short and clean
Multiple Matches	Runs only one case (unless break missing)	Can map multiple values to one result
Default Case	Optional, but used for unmatched cases	Mandatory if all cases are not covered
Error Chances	High (if you forget `break`)	Low (no break needed)

Example #1 Structure of a match expression

<?php
$return_value = match (subject_expression) {
    single_conditional_expression => return_expression,
    conditional_expression1, conditional_expression2 => return_expression,
};
?>

Example #2 Basic match usage

<?php
$food = 'cake';

$return_value = match ($food) {
    'apple' => 'This food is an apple',
    'bar' => 'This food is a bar',
    'cake' => 'This food is a cake',
};

var_dump($return_value);
?>

output: string(19) "This food is a cake"

Example #3 Example of using match with comparison operators

<?php
$age = 18;

$output = match (true) {
    $age < 2 => "Baby",
    $age < 13 => "Child",
    $age <= 19 => "Teenager",
    $age >= 40 => "Old adult",
    $age > 19 => "Young adult",
};

var_dump($output);
?>
output: string(8) "Teenager"