PHP · Chapter 14 of 44

PHP Switch Statement

The switch statement is used to perform different actions based on different possible values of a single variable, avoiding long chains of elseif statements. Each possible value is a case.

Each case should typically end with a break statement to prevent execution from falling through to the next case. A default case can be included to run when no other case matches.

Syntax

switch ($var) {
  case value1:
    // code
    break;
  default:
    // code
}

How switch works

PHP compares the switch expression against each case value using loose comparison. When a match is found, PHP runs the code for that case until it hits a break or the end of the switch block.

The default case

default runs when none of the case values match the expression, similar to a final else in an if/elseif chain.

Example 1 (php)

<?php
  $day = "Mon";
  switch ($day) {
    case "Mon":
      echo "Monday";
      break;
    default:
      echo "Another day";
  }
?>

Output

Monday

Since $day matches "Mon", that case runs and break stops further checks.

Example 2 (php)

<?php
  $grade = "F";
  switch ($grade) {
    case "A":
    case "B":
      echo "Good job";
      break;
    default:
      echo "Keep trying";
  }
?>

Output

Keep trying

Since $grade doesn't match A or B, execution falls to the default case.

Key points

switch compares one expression against multiple case values.
break prevents falling through to the next case.
default runs when no case matches.
Multiple case labels can share the same block of code.

💡 Note: Forgetting break is a very common bug — it causes execution to 'fall through' into the next case unintentionally.

PHP Switch Statement

How switch works

The default case

Key points

📝 Quick Quiz