BackedEnum - PHP Review #3

The story of a developer who decided to say goodbye to endless const declarations and mapping arrays.
Along the way, you’ll learn what BackedEnums are, their pros and cons, and why sometimes it’s better to use enum-name than to duplicate string values.

🤔 What are BackedEnums anyway?

Since PHP 8.1, we’ve finally got something we’ve been waiting for years – enums!
And to top it off, there’s an even fancier version – BackedEnums.
These are enums that, besides having a name, can also have a value (string or int).
Sounds like a class const, but it’s way better. 💪

Example in action

enum Status: string {
    case NEW = 'new';
    case IN_PROGRESS = 'in_progress';
    case DONE = 'done';
}

// Usage
$orderStatus = Status::NEW;
echo $orderStatus->value; // "new"
echo $orderStatus->name;  // "NEW"

🧐 Why would I need this?

Advantages:

• ✅ Readability – no more magic strings and guessing what the author meant.
• ✅ Type safety – you can’t accidentally pass "N3W" instead of "NEW" to a function.
• ✅ Easy refactoring – change the value in one place and you’re done.
• ✅ Helper methods – you can add logic to enums (e.g., isFinished()).

Disadvantages:

• ❌ PHP 8.1+ only – if you’re stuck on 7.4, you can only cry in the corner.
• ❌ A bit of magic – in large projects, you need to think carefully about whether to use value or name.
• ❌ Overkill for simple cases – if you only have 2 values, a const might be enough.

😅 Why can string BackedEnums be tricky?

Well, here’s the thing.
If the enum value = its name, you’re kind of shooting yourself in the foot, because then in your code you have:

Status::NEW->value // "NEW"
Status::NEW->name  // "NEW"

And if you can just use ->name, what’s the point of having value?
Instead, it’s better to stick with a regular enum (without a value) and keep things simple.

⏳ What was before enums?

Ah, the good old days…
We wrote gems like this:

class Status {
    public const NEW = 'new';
    public const IN_PROGRESS = 'in_progress';
    public const DONE = 'done';
}

$status = Status::NEW;

Or even better – mapping arrays, which you had to maintain in three different places.
(Yeah, we all know that hurt.)

🔄 Before & After – how I got rid of mappers

Before (mappers):

class OrderStatus {
   public const NEW = 'new';
   public const IN_PROGRESS = 'in_progress';
   public const DONE = 'done';

    public static array $labels = [
        self::NEW = "I'm doing things now!",
        self::IN_PROGRESS = "I'm working on it!",
        self::DONE = "I finished",
    ];
}

echo OrderStatus::$labels[OrderStatus::IN_PROGRESS]; // "I'm working on it!"

After (enums):

 enum OrderStatus: string {
     case NEW = 'new';
     case IN_PROGRESS = 'in_progress';
     case DONE = 'done';

     public function label(): string {
         return match($this) {
             self::NEW = "I'm doing things now!",,
             self::IN_PROGRESS = "I'm working on it!",
             self::DONE = "I finished",
         };
     }
 }

 echo OrderStatus::IN_PROGRESS->label(); // "I'm working on it!"

The result? Mappers are gone, the code is more readable, and my IDE gives me hints on the fly. 😎
The example is kind of more abstract but it does show what or how enums may be used to refactor your old code.

🎉 My little revolution

Thanks to enums, I managed to get rid of all those value mappers!
Now my code is clearer, the IDE suggests values, and I sleep peacefully. 🛌

Mappers? No, thanks.
Enums have taken over and do a better job.
And honestly – it was worth it. 😎

📌 Summary

• PHP 8.1 gave us enums and BackedEnums.
• Use BackedEnums when you need to map names to values (int, string).
• If value == name – consider a regular enum.
• Enums = fewer bugs, fewer mappers, more peace of mind.

Moral: Enums are like new consts, just prettier and smarter.
You can now send your mappers into retirement. 🏖️

✍️ PS: Yes, I smiled while writing this post. Because I’m really happy that we finally have proper enums in PHP. ❤️