EE's 'switch' – template function in pure PHP

gistfile1.php

<?php
$ee_switch_global = array();

function switch(){
  global $ee_switch_global;
  $args = func_get_args();
  $key = array_shift($args);

  if (array_key_exists($key,$ee_switch_global)){
    $index = $ee_switch_global[$key]++;
    if ($index === count($args))
      $ee_switch_global[$key]=0;
    $return $args[$index];
  }else{
    $ee_switch_global[$key]=1;
    return $args[0];
  }
}

?>

<div class="<?=switch('columns','left','center','right');?>">
  <!-- content -->
</div>