Can PHP print Variable Source Code as a String? Here's the Answer!

Описание: Discover how to use PHP to print the original source code of variables with `var_export` and `eval`. Learn techniques to achieve this functionality effortlessly!
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/62255235/ asked by the user 'Joseph' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/11169941/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/62255654/ provided by the user 'Juanga Covas' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/2466142/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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Can PHP print Variable Source Code as a String? Here's the Answer!

When working with PHP, developers often wonder if it's possible to print out the actual source code of variables as a string. This can be particularly useful when you want to see the original formatted structure of an array or any other variable. If you've ever faced this challenge, you're in the right place! This guide dives into how you can achieve this functionality using built-in PHP functions.

The Problem

Let's take a look at a simple variable for our example:

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While PHP offers several functions to inspect variables, such as print_r and var_dump, these functions only show the values and data types of the variables. But what if you want to print the exact original source code of the variable?

Output of Common Functions

To illustrate this, let’s look at the outputs of the commonly used functions:

Using print_r

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Result:

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This function provides a human-readable representation of the array but does not give us the source code we want to see.

Using var_dump

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Result:

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While var_dump gives additional information such as data types, it still doesn't present the code in the format we desire.

The Solution: Using var_export and eval

To print the original source code of your variable, we can utilize a combination of two PHP functions: var_export and eval. Here’s how you can do it:

Step 1: Export the Variable

var_export returns a parsable string representation of a variable. To capture this string, follow these steps:

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This will save the original structure of the $arr variable to a file named arr_test.txt. You may print the contents of the array just for verification:

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Step 2: Restoring the Array

Next, you can restore the array from the saved source code using eval. Here’s how to do it:

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This will create a new $arr variable that replicates the original structure of the variable you started with.

Complete Code Example

Here is the full code to handle both saving and restoring the variable source code:

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Conclusion

In conclusion, while PHP does not have a straightforward function to directly print the original source code of variables, using var_export combined with eval allows you to achieve this effectively. This method ensures that you can easily view, store, and restore PHP variable structures as needed.

Feel free to experiment with these techniques to deepen your understanding of PHP variable manipulation. Happy coding!