PHP Program to Convert Enum to String
Enumerations, or enums are a convenient way to represent a fixed set of named values in programming. In PHP, native support for enums was introduced in PHP 8.1. If you are working with an earlier version of PHP, or if you want to explore alternative approaches, you may need a way to convert enums to strings.
Table of Content
- Using Class Constants
- Associative Arrays
- Using PHP 8.1 Enums
1. Using Class Constants
Before PHP 8.1, developers often used class constants to mimic enums. Each constant represents a unique value, and a method can be implemented to convert the enum value to a string.
<?php
class StatusEnum {
const PENDING = 1;
const APPROVED = 2;
const REJECTED = 3;
public static function toString($enumValue) {
switch ($enumValue) {
case self::PENDING:
return 'Pending';
case self::APPROVED:
return 'Approved';
case self::REJECTED:
return 'Rejected';
default:
return 'Unknown';
}
}
}
// Driver code
$status = StatusEnum::PENDING;
$statusString = StatusEnum::toString($status);
echo "Status: $statusString";
?>
Output
Status: Pending
Associative Arrays
Another approach is to use associative arrays to map enum values to their string representations. Here, an associative array $stringMap is used for mapping enum values to their string representations.
<?php
class StatusEnum {
const PENDING = 1;
const APPROVED = 2;
const REJECTED = 3;
private static $stringMap = [
self::PENDING => 'Pending',
self::APPROVED => 'Approved',
self::REJECTED => 'Rejected',
];
public static function toString($enumValue) {
return self::$stringMap[$enumValue] ?? 'Unknown';
}
}
// Driver code
$status = StatusEnum::PENDING;
$statusString = StatusEnum::toString($status);
echo "Status: $statusString";
?>
Output
Status: Pending
Using PHP 8.1 Enums
With PHP 8.1, native support for enums was introduced, offering a more robust and type-safe way to define and use enums. This approach uses enum classes to define the enum values and a method to convert them to strings.
Example: The example usage demonstrates creating an enum class and converting an enum value to a string.
<?php
enum StatusEnum: string {
case PENDING = 'Pending';
case APPROVED = 'Approved';
case REJECTED = 'Rejected';
public function toString(): string {
return $this->value;
}
}
// Driver code
$status = StatusEnum::PENDING;
$statusString = $status->toString();
echo "Status: $statusString";
?>
Output:
Status: Pending