endswitch

Endswitch is a reserved keyword in PHP used to terminate a switch statement written with PHP's alternative syntax. In this syntax, the switch begins with switch (expression): and ends with endswitch;. Inside, case labels are followed by colons, and code blocks are terminated with break as needed. The endswitch; line concludes the entire switch block.

Example of alternative syntax:

switch ($var):

case 1:

echo "one";

break;

case 2:

echo "two";

break;

default:

echo "other";

endswitch;

The alternative syntax is commonly adopted when PHP code is embedded in HTML, as it avoids braces and can improve readability in templates. It is distinct from the standard PHP switch syntax, which uses braces to delimit the block and ends with a closing curly brace. The equivalent standard syntax would be switch ($var) { ... }. The endswitch variant pairs with if, foreach, while, and for, which each have corresponding closing keywords (endif;, endforeach;, endwhile;, endfor;).

Practical considerations include ensuring correct pairing of opening and closing constructs, maintaining consistent indentation, and remembering that endswitch; must end with a semicolon. While widely supported in PHP, some static analysis tools and editors may require specific configuration to recognize the alternative syntax. Endswitch is a language feature rather than a function, and it helps maintain clean HTML-PHP integration in many legacy and template-heavy codebases.