Return function results based on condition - PHP - php

Question

I have the following code
public function create(){
return self::checkQuantity();
return self::checkSameLocation();
return self::someAnotherFunction();
return self::someMoreFunction();
..
..
..
}
public function checkQuantity(){
if(someCondition){
return [foo,bar];
}
}
public function checkSameLocation(){
if(someCondition){
return [foo,bar];
}
}
I would like to return function inside create() only if it function inside it returns something else continue executing the create() function.
Based on the example:
create() gets called
if checkQuantity returns nothing then continue with checkSameLocation() without returning checkQuantity() function
NOTE: There could be multiple function calls inside create() sometimes, I would like to avoid using if statement checks.

Answer 1

public function create(){
return self::checkQuantity()
?? self::checkSameLocation()
?? self::someAnotherFunction(); //and so on
}
See Null coalescing operator

Answer 2

public function create(){
$data = function1();
if ($data) {
return $data;
}
$data = function2();
if ($data) {
return $data;
}
$data = function3();
if ($data) {
return $data;
}
// ...
return function42();
}
This can lead to another solution like:
public function create(){
$functions = ['func1', 'func2', 'func3',]; // etc
foreach ($functions as $func) {
$data = $func();
if ($data) {
return $data;
}
}
}

Answer 3

Something like this:
(in this case, I've moved all your check code into polymorphic classes; the same could be achieved with methods in the current class per your question, but I think it's neater this way)
$checks = [new checkClass1, new checkClass2, new checkClass3, ...];
foreach ($checks as $check) {
$result = $check->runCheck();
if ($result) {
return $result;
}
}

Answer 4

You need an if and a temporary variable.
public function create(){
$a = self::checkQuantity();
if(empty($a)) {
return self::checkSameLocation();
} else {
return $a;
}
}
public function checkQuantity(){
if(someCondition){
return [foo,bar];
}
}
public function checkSameLocation(){
if(someCondition){
return [foo,bar];
}
}

Answer 5

This looks like the perfect use case for the null coalescing operator
public function create(){
return self::checkQuantity() ?? self::checkSameLocation() ?? self::someAnotherFunction() ?? return self::someMoreFunction()...
}
You can chain as many function calls as you want. That line will return the first value that's not null. Since returning nothing from a function effectively equals returning a null value, it'll work as you want.