PHP Manual
Variable handling Functions
Prints human-readable information about a variable

print_r

(PHP 4, PHP 5, PHP 7, PHP 8)

print_r — Prints human-readable information about a variable

Description

print_r(mixed $value, bool $return = false): string|true

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

value: 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, int 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.

Changelog

Version	Description
8.4.0	Return type changed from string\|bool to string\|true.

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

print_r($results);
?>

Notes

Note:
When the return parameter is used, this function uses internal output buffering prior to PHP 7.1.0, so it cannot be used inside an ob_start() callback function.