VAR_EXPORT(3) 1 VAR_EXPORT(3)
var_export - Outputs or returns a parsable string representation of a variable
SYNOPSIS
mixed var_export (mixed $expression, [bool $return = false])
DESCRIPTION
var_export(3) gets structured information about the given variable. It is similar to var_dump(3) with one exception: the returned represen-
tation is valid PHP code.
PARAMETERS
o $expression
- The variable you want to export.
o $return
- If used and set to TRUE, var_export(3) will return the variable representation instead of outputting it.
RETURN VALUES
Returns the variable representation when the $return parameter is used and evaluates to TRUE. Otherwise, this function will return NULL.
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.
CHANGELOG
+--------+---------------------------------------------------+
|Version | |
| | |
| | Description |
| | |
+--------+---------------------------------------------------+
| 5.1.0 | |
| | |
| | Possibility to export classes and arrays con- |
| | taining classes using the __set_state() magic |
| | method. |
| | |
+--------+---------------------------------------------------+
EXAMPLES
Example #1
var_export(3) Examples
<?php
$a = array (1, 2, array ("a", "b", "c"));
var_export($a);
?>
The above example will output:
array (
0 => 1,
1 => 2,
2 =>
array (
0 => 'a',
1 => 'b',
2 => 'c',
),
)
<?php
$b = 3.1;
$v = var_export($b, true);
echo $v;
?>
The above example will output:
3.1
Example #2
Exporting classes since PHP 5.1.0
<?php
class A { public $var; }
$a = new A;
$a->var = 5;
var_export($a);
?>
The above example will output:
A::__set_state(array(
'var' => 5,
))
Example #3
Using __set_state() (since PHP 5.1.0)
<?php
class A
{
public $var1;
public $var2;
public static function __set_state($an_array)
{
$obj = new A;
$obj->var1 = $an_array['var1'];
$obj->var2 = $an_array['var2'];
return $obj;
}
}
$a = new A;
$a->var1 = 5;
$a->var2 = 'foo';
eval('$b = ' . var_export($a, true) . ';'); // $b = A::__set_state(array(
// 'var1' => 5,
// 'var2' => 'foo',
// ));
var_dump($b);
?>
The above example will output:
object(A)#2 (2) {
["var1"]=>
int(5)
["var2"]=>
string(3) "foo"
}
NOTES
Note
Variables of type resource couldn't be exported by this function.
Note
var_export(3) does not handle circular references as it would be close to impossible to generate parsable PHP code for that. If you
want to do something with the full representation of an array or object, use serialize(3).
Warning
When var_export(3) exports objects, the leading backslash is not included in the class name of namespaced classes for maximum com-
patibility.
SEE ALSO
print_r(3), serialize(3), var_dump(3).
PHP Documentation Group VAR_EXPORT(3)