print_r

(PHP 4, PHP 5, PHP 7)

print_r — Prints human-readable information about a variable

Description

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

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

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

Parameters

expression

The expression to be printed.

return

If you would like to capture the output of print_r(), use the return parameter. When this parameter is set to TRUE, print_r() 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() callback function.

Examples

Example #1 print_r() 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
?>

Description

Parameters

Return Values

Notes

Examples

See Also