match, Nullsafe and Modern Operators — PHP 8: Modern PHP Development

Q: Give three differences between match and switch.

`match` uses strict comparison (`===`), is an expression that returns a value, and has no fall-through (no `break`). It also throws `UnhandledMatchError` when no arm matches, while `switch` silently does nothing.

Q: What does $a?->b()?->c return if b() returns null?

`null` — the nullsafe operator short-circuits the rest of the chain, so `c` isn't accessed and no error is raised.

match (8.0) is an expression that compares with strict identity (===), returns a value, needs no break, and throws UnhandledMatchError if nothing matches — much safer than switch. The nullsafe operator ?-> short-circuits a chain to null when an intermediate value is null. Combine with ?? (null coalescing) and ??= for defaults.

<?php
$label = match ($status) {
    'draft', 'pending' => 'Not published',
    'published'        => 'Live',
    default            => throw new InvalidArgumentException("Unknown status {$status}"),
};

// match(true) for ranges
$grade = match (true) {
    $score >= 90 => 'A',
    $score >= 80 => 'B',
    default      => 'C',
};

$country = $user?->getAddress()?->country ?? 'Unknown';
$options['timeout'] ??= 30;

Common pitfalls

Expecting match to coerce types like switch — match('1') won't match 1.
Using ?-> in write context ($a?->b = 1) — not allowed.
Overusing nullsafe chains to hide design problems where null should be impossible.

Key points

match is strict, exhaustive and returns a value
throw is an expression in PHP 8
?-> and ?? handle optional values concisely

Common pitfalls

Key points

Practice questions