PHP print_r() Function
The PHP print_r() function prints the information about a variable in a more human-readable way.
Note: print_r(), var_dump() and var_export() will also show protected and private properties of objects. Static class members will not be shown.
Syntax
print_r(variable, return)
Parameters
variable |
Required. Specify the variable to be printed. |
return |
Optional. If set to true, this function will returns the information rather than print it. Default is false |
Return Value
If the variable is a string, int or float, the value itself will be printed. If the variable is 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 returns a string.
Example:
The example below shows the usage of print_r() function.
<?php $x = array(10, 20, array("a", "b")); print_r($x); echo "\n"; $y = array(10=>"Red", 20=>"Green", 30=>"Blue", 40=>array("Black", "White")); print_r($y); ?>
The output of the above code will be:
Array ( [0] => 10 [1] => 20 [2] => Array ( [0] => a [1] => b ) ) Array ( [10] => Red [20] => Green [30] => Blue [40] => Array ( [0] => Black [1] => White ) )
❮ PHP Variable Handling Reference