PHP print_r() function

In PHP, print_r() is a built-in function used for printing human-readable information about a variable. It is primarily used for debugging purposes to display the contents of arrays, objects, and other complex data structures in a more readable format.

Syntax:
The syntax for print_r() is as follows:

print_r($variable);

Parameters:

• $variable: The variable you want to print.

Return Value:
Unlike echo or print, print_r() does not return the information as a string. Instead, it directly outputs the information to the screen.

Example:

$fruits = array("apple", "banana", "orange");

echo "Using print_r():<br>";
print_r($fruits);

echo "<br><br>";

echo "Using echo to display the array directly:<br>";
echo $fruits;

Output:

Using print_r():
Array
(
    [0] => apple
    [1] => banana
    [2] => orange
)

Using echo to display the array directly:
Array

In the example above, we have an array $fruits containing three elements. We use print_r($fruits) to display the array’s content in a human-readable format. The print_r() function formats the output with proper indentation, displaying the array and its elements.

Please note that print_r() is not suitable for displaying data in a production environment or to end-users since its output is meant for debugging and development purposes. For production use, you should use a proper method for displaying data to the users, such as rendering data within HTML templates or converting complex data into a structured format (e.g., JSON) for API responses.

If you need to inspect complex data structures, print_r() is a handy tool to visualize the contents of arrays, objects, or other variables quickly during development and debugging. For more advanced and detailed introspection of objects, you can also use var_dump() or explore other debugging tools provided by PHP.