Lookups instead of Switch

gistfile1.aw

<?php

# Instead of

$name = 'Jeff';
switch ($name) {
    case 'Jeff':
        echo "I'm Jeff";
        break;
    case 'Joe':
        echo "I'm Joe";
        break;
    case 'John':
        echo "I'm John";
        break;
}

# Do
$lookup = array(
   "Jeff" => "I'm Jeff",
   "Joe"  => "I'm Joe",
   "John" => "I'm John",
   "default" => "I'm Error"
);

echo $lookup[$name];

# Or if you need a default
echo isset($lookup[$name]) ? $lookup[$name] : $lookup['default'];

You'd likely want to set a default as well. :)

Haven't tested it, but I'd also imagine that a lookup will be somewhat faster.

Maybe I'm confusing PHP with JavaScript, but wouldn't you get an error about an undefined key if you did echo $lookup['Dave'] since the attribute doesn't exist in the array?

Cleaner code, but what about performing more complex tasks than echo-ing?

@will - Was just a quick example. You can set a default. Updated the code above to show a quick solution.

@Abulsman - Yeah, it just depends on your needs. This works really well for quick lookup type stuff, where you need to set a value or something.

You probably could use a Closure for more complex tasks.

Anyone catch the Zelda 2 reference? :)

@willsteinmetz You'll get a Notice not an error.

Yeah, sorry -- notice, not error. Just do a quick test to see if the key exists.

I do this when creating custom form errors. Setup an errors array and then use the cleansed $_POST key submitted as the lookup. Works great.

Handy solution with simple return values. In case of more complex actions, I usually use callback functions.