PHP switch-case Statement - Syntax & Examples

Basic Syntax

<?php
$day = 'Tuesday';

switch ($day) {
    case 'Monday':
        echo 'Start of the work week';
        break;
    case 'Tuesday':
    case 'Wednesday':
    case 'Thursday':
        echo 'Midweek';
        break;
    case 'Friday':
        echo 'Almost weekend!';
        break;
    case 'Saturday':
    case 'Sunday':
        echo 'Weekend!';
        break;
    default:
        echo 'Invalid day';
        break;
}
// Output: Midweek

How switch Works

PHP evaluates the switch expression once, then compares it against each case value using loose comparison (==). Execution continues from the matching case until a break is encountered.

Fall-Through Behavior

<?php
$grade = 'B';

// WITHOUT break - falls through to next case
switch ($grade) {
    case 'A':
        echo 'Excellent ';
    case 'B':
        echo 'Good ';
    case 'C':
        echo 'Average ';
    default:
        echo 'Need improvement';
}
// Output: Good Average Need improvement
// (all cases after 'B' execute because no break!)

// WITH break - correct behavior
switch ($grade) {
    case 'A':
        echo 'Excellent';
        break;
    case 'B':
        echo 'Good';
        break;
    case 'C':
        echo 'Average';
        break;
    default:
        echo 'Need improvement';
}

Loose Comparison Warning

<?php
// switch uses == (loose), NOT === (strict)
$value = 0;

switch ($value) {
    case 'hello':
        echo 'Matched string!';  // THIS EXECUTES!
        break;                    // Because 0 == 'hello' is true
    case 0:
        echo 'Matched zero';
        break;
}
// Output: Matched string! (unexpected!)

// Solution: use match() in PHP 8.0+ for strict comparison

match Expression (PHP 8.0+)

<?php
// match uses strict comparison (===) and returns a value
$status = match($code) {
    200 => 'OK',
    301 => 'Redirect',
    404 => 'Not Found',
    500 => 'Server Error',
    default => 'Unknown',
};

echo $status;  // "OK" if $code is 200

// match with multiple conditions
$category = match(true) {
    $age < 13 => 'child',
    $age < 18 => 'teenager',
    $age < 65 => 'adult',
    default => 'senior',
};

switch vs if-else vs match