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var_dump

(PHP 3>= 3.0.5, PHP 4 , PHP 5)

var_dump -- Dumps information about a variable

Description

void var_dump ( mixed expression [, mixed expression [, ...]])

This function displays structured information about one or more expressions that includes its type and value. Arrays and objects are explored recursively with values indented to show structure.

In PHP only public properties of objects will be returned in the output. var_export() and print_r() will also return protected and private properties.

Tip: As with anything that outputs its result directly to the browser, you can use the output-control functions to capture the output of this function, and save it in a string (for example).

Example 1. var_dump() example

<?php
$a = array (1, 2, array ("a", "b", "c"));
var_dump($a);
?>

Output: 

array(3) {
  [0]=>
  int(1)
  [1]=>
  int(2)
  [2]=>
  array(3) {
    [0]=>
    string(1) "a"
    [1]=>
    string(1) "b"
    [2]=>
    string(1) "c"
  }
}
<?php

$b = 3.1;
$c = true;
var_dump($b, $c);

?>

output: 

float(3.1)
bool(true)

See also var_export() and print_r().

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