Getting carried away when writing code like prose, or not

We all know how indexes work. The first item is 0, the second item is 1; CS49-topic;

So really, there's no doubt about what this code means:

$blocks[0]['name'] === 'acme/image';
$blocks[0]['name'] === 'acme/image';

Also, no doubt about what this one means:

$blocks[1]['name'] === 'acme/image';
$blocks[1]['name'] === 'acme/image';

Let's suppose that's really the gist of the "code": checking if the "name" of the first or second "block" matches "acme/image".

I think having a conditional like this is okay:

if ($blocks[0]['name'] === 'acme/image') {
    return 'something';
}
 
if ($blocks[1]['name'] === 'acme/image') {
    return 'something else';
}
if ($blocks[0]['name'] === 'acme/image') {
    return 'something';
}

if ($blocks[1]['name'] === 'acme/image') {
    return 'something else';
}

It just gets the job done.

Extracting to a variable or constant the "block type" would be a slight improvement:

const IMAGE_BLOCK = 'acme/image';
 
if ($blocks[0]['name'] === IMAGE_BLOCK) {
    return 'something';
}
 
if ($blocks[1]['name'] === IMAGE_BLOCK) {
    return 'something else';
}
const IMAGE_BLOCK = 'acme/image';

if ($blocks[0]['name'] === IMAGE_BLOCK) {
    return 'something';
}

if ($blocks[1]['name'] === IMAGE_BLOCK) {
    return 'something else';
}

Capturing and hiding away the "block structure" is an idea to explore:

function blockNameMatches(array $block, string $name): bool
{
    return $block['name'] === $name;
}
 
if (blockNameMatches($blocks[0], IMAGE_BLOCK)) {
    return 'something';
}
function blockNameMatches(array $block, string $name): bool
{
    return $block['name'] === $name;
}

if (blockNameMatches($blocks[0], IMAGE_BLOCK)) {
    return 'something';
}

Building on top of these low-level functions could bring some clarity and specificity:

function isBlockAnImageBlock(array $block): bool
{
    return blockNameMatches($block, IMAGE_BLOCK);
}
 
if (isBlockAnImageBlock($blocks[0])) {
    return 'something';
}
function isBlockAnImageBlock(array $block): bool
{
    return blockNameMatches($block, IMAGE_BLOCK);
}

if (isBlockAnImageBlock($blocks[0])) {
    return 'something';
}

However weird it might seem at first sight, using constants in place of those indexes makes things more readable to me:

const FIRST = 0;
const SECOND = 1;
 
if (isBlockAnImageBlock($blocks[FIRST])) {
    return 'something';
}
 
if (isBlockAnImageBlock($blocks[SECOND])) {
    return 'something else';
}
const FIRST = 0;
const SECOND = 1;

if (isBlockAnImageBlock($blocks[FIRST])) {
    return 'something';
}

if (isBlockAnImageBlock($blocks[SECOND])) {
    return 'something else';
}

But somehow, for big numbers, like FIVE_HUNDRED_AND_TWENTY_TWO, it no longer works.

And, of course, there's no limit; we can go even further:

function isFirstBlockAnImageBlock(array $blocks): bool
{
    return isBlockAnImageBlock($blocks[FIRST]);
}
 
if (isFirstBlockAnImageBlock($blocks)) {
    return 'something';
}
 
if (isSecondBlockAnImageBlock($blocks)) {
    return 'something else';
}
function isFirstBlockAnImageBlock(array $blocks): bool
{
    return isBlockAnImageBlock($blocks[FIRST]);
}

if (isFirstBlockAnImageBlock($blocks)) {
    return 'something';
}

if (isSecondBlockAnImageBlock($blocks)) {
    return 'something else';
}

Is it better now or worse? When was good enough?

I like that there are no straightforward answers to these questions.