Enumerations on PHP

Depending upon use case, I would normally use something simple like the following:

abstract class DaysOfWeek
{
    const Sunday = 0;
    const Monday = 1;
    // etc.
}

$today = DaysOfWeek::Sunday;

However, other use cases may require more validation of constants and values. Based on the comments below about reflection, and a few other notes, here's an expanded example which may better serve a much wider range of cases:

abstract class BasicEnum {
    private static $constCacheArray = NULL;

    private static function getConstants() {
        if (self::$constCacheArray == NULL) {
            self::$constCacheArray = [];
        }
        $calledClass = get_called_class();
        if (!array_key_exists($calledClass, self::$constCacheArray)) {
            $reflect = new ReflectionClass($calledClass);
            self::$constCacheArray[$calledClass] = $reflect->getConstants();
        }
        return self::$constCacheArray[$calledClass];
    }

    public static function isValidName($name, $strict = false) {
        $constants = self::getConstants();

        if ($strict) {
            return array_key_exists($name, $constants);
        }

        $keys = array_map('strtolower', array_keys($constants));
        return in_array(strtolower($name), $keys);
    }

    public static function isValidValue($value, $strict = true) {
        $values = array_values(self::getConstants());
        return in_array($value, $values, $strict);
    }
}

By creating a simple enum class that extends BasicEnum, you now have the ability to use methods thusly for simple input validation:

abstract class DaysOfWeek extends BasicEnum {
    const Sunday = 0;
    const Monday = 1;
    const Tuesday = 2;
    const Wednesday = 3;
    const Thursday = 4;
    const Friday = 5;
    const Saturday = 6;
}

DaysOfWeek::isValidName('Humpday');                  // false
DaysOfWeek::isValidName('Monday');                   // true
DaysOfWeek::isValidName('monday');                   // true
DaysOfWeek::isValidName('monday', $strict = true);   // false
DaysOfWeek::isValidName(0);                          // false

DaysOfWeek::isValidValue(0);                         // true
DaysOfWeek::isValidValue(5);                         // true
DaysOfWeek::isValidValue(7);                         // false
DaysOfWeek::isValidValue('Friday');                  // false

As a side note, any time I use reflection at least once on a static/const class where the data won't change (such as in an enum), I cache the results of those reflection calls, since using fresh reflection objects each time will eventually have a noticeable performance impact (Stored in an assocciative array for multiple enums).

Now that most people have finally upgraded to at least 5.3, and SplEnum is available, that is certainly a viable option as well--as long as you don't mind the traditionally unintuitive notion of having actual enum instantiations throughout your codebase. In the above example, BasicEnum and DaysOfWeek cannot be instantiated at all, nor should they be.

From PHP 8.1, you can use native enumerations.

The basic syntax looks like this:

enum TransportMode {
  case Bicycle;
  case Car;
  case Ship;
  case Plane;
  case Feet;
}

function travelCost(TransportMode $mode, int $distance): int
{ /* implementation */ } 

$mode = TransportMode::Boat;

$bikeCost = travelCost(TransportMode::Bicycle, 90);
$boatCost = travelCost($mode, 90);

// this one would fail: (Enums are singletons, not scalars)
$failCost = travelCost('Car', 90);

Values

By default, enumerations are not backed by any kind of scalar. So TransportMode::Bicycle is not 0, and you cannot compare using > or < between enumerations.

But the following works:

$foo = TransportMode::Car;
$bar = TransportMode::Car;
$baz = TransportMode::Bicycle;

$foo === $bar; // true
$bar === $baz; // false

$foo instanceof TransportMode; // true

$foo > $bar || $foo <  $bar; // false either way

Backed Enumerations

You can also have "backed" enums, where each enumeration case is "backed" by either an int or a string.

enum Metal: int {
  case Gold = 1932;
  case Silver = 1049;
  case Lead = 1134;
  case Uranium = 1905;
  case Copper = 894;
}

• If one case has a backed value, all cases need to have a backed value, there are no auto-generated values.
• Notice the type of the backed value is declared right after the enumeration name
• Backed values are read only
• Scalar values need to be unique
• Values need to be literals or literal expressions
• To read the backed value you access the value property: Metal::Gold->value.

Finally, backed enumerations implement a BackedEnum interface internally, which exposes two methods:

• from(int|string): self
• tryFrom(int|string): ?self

They are almost equivalent, with the important distinction that the first one will throw an exception if the value is not found, and the second will simply return null.

// usage example:

$metal_1 = Metal::tryFrom(1932); // $metal_1 === Metal::Gold;
$metal_2 = Metal::tryFrom(1000); // $metal_2 === null;

$metal_3 = Metal::from(9999); // throws Exception

Methods

Enumerations may have methods, and thus implement interfaces.

interface TravelCapable
{
    public function travelCost(int $distance): int;
    public function requiresFuel(): bool;
}

enum TransportMode: int implements TravelCapable{
  case Bicycle = 10;
  case Car = 1000 ;
  case Ship = 800 ;
  case Plane = 2000;
  case Feet = 5;
  
  public function travelCost(int $distance): int
  {
    return $this->value * $distance;
  }
  
  public function requiresFuel(): bool {
    return match($this) {
        TransportMode::Car, TransportMode::Ship, TransportMode::Plane => true,
      TransportMode::Bicycle, TransportMode::Feet => false
    }
  }
}

$mode = TransportMode::Car;

$carConsumesFuel = $mode->requiresFuel();   // true
$carTravelCost   = $mode->travelCost(800);  // 800000

Value listing

Both Pure Enums and Backed Enums internally implement the interface UnitEnum, which includes the (static) method UnitEnum::cases(), and allows to retrieve an array of the cases defined in the enumeration:

$modes = TransportMode::cases();

And now $modes is:

[
    TransportMode::Bicycle,
    TransportMode::Car,
    TransportMode::Ship,
    TransportMode::Plane
    TransportMode::Feet
]

Static methods

Enumerations can implement their own static methods, which would generally be used for specialized constructors.

This covers the basics. To get the whole thing, head on to the relevant RFC until the feature is released and published in PHP's documentation.

What about class constants?

<?php

class YourClass
{
    const SOME_CONSTANT = 1;

    public function echoConstant()
    {
        echo self::SOME_CONSTANT;
    }
}

echo YourClass::SOME_CONSTANT;

$c = new YourClass;
$c->echoConstant();

I used classes with constants:

class Enum {
    const NAME       = 'aaaa';
    const SOME_VALUE = 'bbbb';
}

print Enum::NAME;

Well, for a simple java like enum in php, I use:

class SomeTypeName {
    private static $enum = array(1 => "Read", 2 => "Write");

    public function toOrdinal($name) {
        return array_search($name, self::$enum);
    }

    public function toString($ordinal) {
        return self::$enum[$ordinal];
    }
}

And to call it:

SomeTypeName::toOrdinal("Read");
SomeTypeName::toString(1);

But I'm a PHP beginner, struggling with the syntax so this might not be the best way. I experimented some with Class Constants, using Reflection to get the constant name from it's value, might be neater.

Finally, a PHP 7.1+ answer with constants that cannot be overridden.

/**
 * An interface that groups HTTP Accept: header Media Types in one place.
 */
interface MediaTypes
{
    /**
    * Now, if you have to use these same constants with another class, you can
    * without creating funky inheritance / is-a relationships.
    * Also, this gets around the single inheritance limitation.
    */

    public const HTML = 'text/html';
    public const JSON = 'application/json';
    public const XML = 'application/xml';
    public const TEXT = 'text/plain';
}

/**
 * An generic request class.
 */
abstract class Request
{
    // Why not put the constants here?
    // 1) The logical reuse issue.
    // 2) Single Inheritance.
    // 3) Overriding is possible.

    // Why put class constants here?
    // 1) The constant value will not be necessary in other class families.
}

/**
 * An incoming / server-side HTTP request class.
 */
class HttpRequest extends Request implements MediaTypes
{
    // This class can implement groups of constants as necessary.
}

If you are using namespaces, code completion should work.

However, in doing this, you lose the ability to hide the constants within the class family (protected) or class alone (private). By definition, everything in an Interface is public.

PHP Manual: Interfaces

Update:

PHP 8.1 now has enumerations.

The most common solution that I have seen to enum's in PHP has been to create a generic enum class and then extend it. You might take a look at this.

UPDATE: Alternatively, I found this from phpclasses.org.

Now you can use The SplEnum class to build it natively. As per the official documentation.

SplEnum gives the ability to emulate and create enumeration objects natively in PHP.

<?php
class Month extends SplEnum {
    const __default = self::January;

    const January = 1;
    const February = 2;
    const March = 3;
    const April = 4;
    const May = 5;
    const June = 6;
    const July = 7;
    const August = 8;
    const September = 9;
    const October = 10;
    const November = 11;
    const December = 12;
}

echo new Month(Month::June) . PHP_EOL;

try {
    new Month(13);
} catch (UnexpectedValueException $uve) {
    echo $uve->getMessage() . PHP_EOL;
}
?>

Please note it's an extension which has to be installed, but it is not available by default. Which comes under Special Types described on the PHP website itself. The above example is taken from the PHP site.

Based on this gist, a base class for all enums:

abstract class Enum {
    protected $val;

    protected function __construct($arg) {
        $this->val = $arg;
    }

    public function __toString() {
        return $this->val;
    }

    public function __set($arg1, $arg2) {
        throw new Exception("enum does not have property");
    }

    public function __get($arg1) {
        throw new Exception("enum does not have property");
    }

    // not really needed
    public function __call($arg1, $arg2) {
        throw new Exception("enum does not have method");
    }

    // not really needed
    static public function __callStatic($arg1, $arg2) {
        throw new Exception("enum does not have static method");
    }
}

Your enum:

final class MyEnum extends Enum {
    static public function val1() {
        return new self("val1");
    }

    static public function val2() {
        return new self("val2");
    }

    static public function val3() {
        return new self("val3");
    }
}

Test it:

$a = MyEnum::val1();
echo "1.the enum value is '$a'\n";

function consumeMyEnum(MyEnum $arg) {
    return "2.the return value is '$arg'\n";
}

echo consumeMyEnum($a);
$version = explode(".", PHP_VERSION);
if ($version[0] >= 7) {
    try {
        echo consumeMyEnum("val1");
    } catch (TypeError $e) {
        echo "3.passing argument error happens (PHP 7.0 and above)\n";
    }
}

echo ($a == MyEnum::val1()) ? "4.same\n" : "4.different\n";
echo ($a == MyEnum::val2()) ? "5.same\n" : "5.different\n";

$b = MyEnum::val1();
echo ($a == $b)  ? "6.same\n" : "6.different\n";
echo ($a === $b) ? "7.same\n" : "7.different\n";

$c = MyEnum::val2();
echo ($a == $c)  ? "8.same\n" : "8.different\n";
echo ($a === $c) ? "9.same\n" : "9.different\n";

switch ($c) {
    case MyEnum::val1(): echo "10.case of 1st\n"; break;
    case MyEnum::val2(): echo "11.case of 2nd\n"; break;
    case MyEnum::val3(): echo "12.case of 3rd\n"; break;
}

try {
    $a->prop = 10;
} catch (Exception $e) {
    echo "13.set property error happens\n";
}

try {
    echo $a->prop;
} catch (Exception $e) {
    echo "14.get property error happens\n";
}

try {
    echo $a->meth();
} catch (Exception $e) {
    echo "15.method call error happens\n";
}

try {
    echo MyEnum::meth();
} catch (Exception $e) {
    echo "16.static method call error happens\n";
}

class Ordinary {}
echo $a instanceof MyEnum   ? "17.MyEnum instance\n"   : "17.not MyEnum instance\n";
echo $a instanceof Enum     ? "18.Enum instance\n"     : "18.not Enum instance\n";
echo $a instanceof Ordinary ? "19.Ordinary instance\n" : "19.not Ordinary instance\n";

Try it online: sandbox

If you want type safety and a bunch of constants that match that type, one way to go is to have an abstract class for your enum and then extend that class with a locked constructor, like so:

abstract class DaysOfWeekEnum{
    public function __construct(string $value){
        $this->value = $value; 
    }
    public function __toString(){
        return $this->value;
    }

}
class Monday extends DaysOfWeekEnum{
    public function __construct(){
        parent::__construct("Monday");
    }
}

class Tuesday extends DaysOfWeekEnum{
    public function __construct(){
        parent::__construct("Tuesday");
    }
}

Then you can have your methods take an instance of DaysOfWeek and pass it an instance of Monday, Tuesday, etc... The only downside is having to 'new-up' an instance every time you want to use your enum, but I find it worth it.

function printWeekDay(DaysOfWeek $day){
    echo "Today is $day.";
}

printWeekDay(new Monday());

I just created a library that I hope does the job. It can be used stand-alone on any PHP project and has some Laravel goodies to make life easier. I use them on production projects.

https://github.com/Kwaadpepper/enum

Don't hesitate to provide feedbacks if you like it or not. It can be printed, and serialized to JSON. Its definition is pretty simple.

Usage is pretty simple:

$enum = BasicEnum::someValue();
echo $enum->equals(BasicEnum::someValue()) ? 'true' : 'false'; // true
echo $enum->value; // 'someValue' or the value you have defined
echo $enum->label; // 'someValue' or the label you have defined
echo $enum; // 'someValue' or the value you have defined
echo json_encode($enum); // {"label": "someValue", "value: "someValue" }

An enum definition is pretty simple (values and labels methods are optional)

/**
 * @method static self post()
 * @method static self about()
 * @method static self contact()
 */
class PostType extends BaseEnum
{
    protected static function values(): array
    {
        return [
            'post' => 0,
            'about' => 1,
            'contact' => 2
        ];
    }

    protected static function labels(): array
    {
        return [
            'post' => 'Regular posts',
            'about' => 'The about page',
            'contact' => 'The contact page'
        ];
    }
}

Another approach would be to use the magic method __set and make the enum private.

e.g.

class Human{
    private $gender;

    public function __set($key, $value){
        if($key == 'day' && !in_array($value, array('Man', 'Woman')){
            new Exception('Wrong value for '.__CLASS__.'->'.$key);
        }
        else{
            $this->$key = $value;
        }
        ...
    }
}

This magic method is called whenever code outside the class itself try to set up the class property. This works from PHP5 - 8.