Enum backed values in PHP - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Enum backed values

📖 Scenario: You are creating a simple program to represent different user roles in a system. Each role has a specific numeric code that the system uses internally.

🎯 Goal: Build a PHP enum with backed integer values for user roles, then print the numeric code of a specific role.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a backed enum called UserRole with integer values

Include roles: Admin = 1, Editor = 2, Viewer = 3

Create a variable called role and assign it the UserRole::Editor

Print the integer value of the role variable

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Enums with backed values are used in real systems to represent fixed sets of options with specific codes, like user roles, status codes, or categories.

💼 Career

Understanding enums helps you write clearer, safer code that is easier to maintain and less error-prone, a valuable skill for PHP developers.

1

Create the enum UserRole with backed integer values

Write a backed enum called UserRole with these exact entries: Admin = 1, Editor = 2, and Viewer = 3.

PHP

<?php

enum UserRole: int
{
    // Your code here
}

Need a hint?

Use enum UserRole: int and define each case with case Name = value;.

2

Assign the UserRole::Editor to a variable

Create a variable called role and assign it the value UserRole::Editor.

PHP

<?php

enum UserRole: int
{
    case Admin = 1;
    case Editor = 2;
    case Viewer = 3;
}

// Your code here

Need a hint?

Use $role = UserRole::Editor; to assign the enum value.

3

Get the integer value from the enum variable

Create a variable called roleValue and assign it the integer value of $role using the value property.

PHP

<?php

enum UserRole: int
{
    case Admin = 1;
    case Editor = 2;
    case Viewer = 3;
}

$role = UserRole::Editor;

// Your code here

Need a hint?

Use $role->value to get the integer value from the enum.

4

Print the integer value of the role

Write a print statement to display the value of $roleValue.

PHP

value;

// Your code here

Need a hint?

Use print($roleValue); to show the number 2.