How to check if enum type?

Question

How can I tell if a variable is of type enum?

I have installed PHP 8.1 on my Ubuntu 20.04. I'm testing the new "enum" types.

Is something like that possible?

is_enum($var)
gettype($var) === 'enum'

Rimini

Answer 1

Someone told me the solution:

if ($var instanceof \UnitEnum) {
   echo 'is enum';
}

Rimini

php.net/manual/en/class.unitenum – Gasparo

Or depending on your needs, instanceof BackedEnum. – Eyeopener

this always returns false for me – Quotidian

instanceof \IntBackedEnum if you're using an enum with an integer return type – Foolhardy

Answer 2

use enum_exists, for check if is a enum.

if (enum_exists(Item::class)) {
    $myType = Item::Manufactured;
}

Reliable

It also works with enum_exists($var::class) – Pendulous

Note that this also tries to autoload by default (second parameter): php.net/manual/en/function.enum-exists.php – Tymon

Answer 3

To check if a $var is a BackedEnum, you can use this code:

if ($var instanceof \BackedEnum) {
   echo 'is a backed enum';
}

Read more on documentation of PHP about BackedEnum.

Visceral

Answer 4

You also can check it through reflection:

var_dump(
    (new ReflectionClass($object::class))
        ->isEnum()
);

Doublereed