php man page for print_r

PRINT_R(3)								 1								PRINT_R(3)

print_r - Prints human-readable information about a variable

SYNOPSIS
       mixed print_r (mixed  $expression, [bool  $return = false])

DESCRIPTION
       print_r(3) displays information about a variable in a way that's readable by humans.

       print_r(3),  var_dump(3) and var_export(3) will also show protected and private properties of objects with PHP 5. Static class members will
       not be shown.

PARAMETERS
	      o $expression
		- The expression to be printed.

	      o $return
		- If you would like to capture the output of print_r(3), use the $return parameter. When this parameter is set to TRUE, print_r(3)
		will return the information rather than print it.

RETURN VALUES
	If  given a string, integer or float, the value itself will be printed. If given an array, values will be presented in a format that shows
       keys and elements. Similar notation is used for objects.

	When the $return parameter is TRUE, this function will return a string. Otherwise, the return value is TRUE.

NOTES
       Note

	      When the $return parameter is used, this function uses internal output buffering so it cannot be used inside an ob_start(3) callback
	      function.

EXAMPLES
       Example #1

	      print_r(3) example

	      <pre>
	      <?php
	      $a = array ('a' => 'apple', 'b' => 'banana', 'c' => array ('x', 'y', 'z'));
	      print_r ($a);
	      ?>
	      </pre>

	      The above example will output:

	      <pre>
	      Array
	      (
		  [a] => apple
		  [b] => banana
		  [c] => Array
		      (
			  [0] => x
			  [1] => y
			  [2] => z
		      )
	      )
	      </pre>

       Example #2

	      $return parameter example

	      <?php
	      $b = array ('m' => 'monkey', 'foo' => 'bar', 'x' => array ('x', 'y', 'z'));
	      $results = print_r($b, true); // $results now contains output from print_r
	      ?>

SEE ALSO
       ob_start(3), var_dump(3), var_export(3).

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