PHP
enums
validation

tryFrom() at the edges, from() inside

OrderStatus::from('xyz') throws a ValueError; tryFrom('xyz') returns null. Use tryFrom for query strings, webhooks and imports, and from where a wrong value is a bug.

October 19, 20261 min read

Both turn a raw value into a case. They differ only in what happens when the value is not one.

$status = OrderStatus::tryFrom($request->query('status')) ?? OrderStatus::Pending;
 
$status = OrderStatus::from($row['status']);

The first line reads a filter from the URL: an unknown value falls back to a default instead of a 500. The second reads from your own database, where a value outside the enum is a bug you want to hear about, so ValueError is right.

A form request should not need either: Rule::enum(OrderStatus::class) rejects the value before your code runs.

New

Laravel
validation
enums

Validate and cast a status with one backed enum

Rule::enum() accepts only the enum's values, and an enum cast on the model gives you the case everywhere else, so the list of valid statuses lives in one place.

Published on: October 10, 2026

1 min read New

Laravel
enums
php

One details() match instead of label(), color() and hint()

Put everything the UI needs about a case in one array per case, and read label() and meta() from it; adding a case means one new arm, and match still throws when it is missing.

Published on: October 19, 2026

1 min read