var_export
(PHP 4 >= 4.2.0, PHP 5)
var_export -- Outputs or returns a parsable string representation of a variable
Description
mixed
var_export ( mixed expression [, bool return] )
var_export() gets structured information about the
given variable. It is similar to var_dump()
with one exception: the returned representation is valid PHP code.
Parameters
- expression
The variable you want to export.
- return
If used and set to TRUE, var_export() will return
the variable representation instead of outputing it.
Note: This function internally uses the
output buffering with this parameter so it can not be used inside
ob_start() callback function.
Return Values
Returns the variable representation when the return
parameter is used and evaluates to TRUE. Otherwise, this function will
return NULL.
Examples
Example 1. var_export() 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: |
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.