php man page for var_dump

VAR_DUMP(3)								 1							       VAR_DUMP(3)

var_dump - Dumps information about a variable

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

DESCRIPTION
	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.

	All public, private and protected properties of objects will be returned in the output unless the object implements a __debugInfo() method
       (implemented in PHP 5.6.0).

       Tip

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

PARAMETERS
	      o $expression
		- The variable you want to dump.

RETURN VALUES
	No value is returned.

EXAMPLES
       Example #1

	      var_dump(3) example

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

	      The above example will 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);

	      ?>

	      The above example will output:

	      float(3.1)
	      bool(true)

SEE ALSO
       print_r(3), debug_zval_dump(3), var_export(3), __debugInfo().

PHP Documentation Group 													       VAR_DUMP(3)