floatval
As a note, get_defined_vars() does not return a set of variable references (as I hoped). For example:
<?php
// define a variable
$my_var = "foo";
// get our list of defined variables
$defined_vars = get_defined_vars();
// now try to change the value through the returned array
$defined_vars["my_var"] = "bar";
echo $my_var, "\n";
?>
will output "foo" (the original value). It'd be nice if get_defined_vars() had an optional argument to make them references, but I imagine its a rather specialized request. You can do it yourself (less conveniently) with something like:
<?php
$defined_vars = array();
$var_names = array_keys(get_defined_vars());
foreach ($var_names as $var_name)
{
$defined_vars[$var_name] =& $$var_name;
}
?>
get_defined_vars
(PHP 4 >= 4.0.4, PHP 5)
get_defined_vars — Returns an array of all defined variables
Description
array get_defined_vars
( void
)
This function returns a multidimensional array containing a list of all defined variables, be them environment, server or user-defined variables, within the scope that get_defined_vars() is called.
Return Values
A multidimensional array with all the variables.
Examples
Example #1 get_defined_vars() Example
<?php
$b = array(1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8);
$arr = get_defined_vars();
// print $b
print_r($arr["b"]);
/* print path to the PHP interpreter (if used as a CGI)
* e.g. /usr/local/bin/php */
echo $arr["_"];
// print the command-line parameters if any
print_r($arr["argv"]);
// print all the server vars
print_r($arr["_SERVER"]);
// print all the available keys for the arrays of variables
print_r(array_keys(get_defined_vars()));
?>
Changelog
| Version | Description |
|---|---|
| 5.0.0 | The $GLOBALS variable is included in the results of the array returned. |
See Also
- isset() - Determine if a variable is set and is not NULL
- get_defined_functions() - Returns an array of all defined functions
- get_defined_constants() - Returns an associative array with the names of all the constants and their values
add a note
User Contributed Notesget_defined_vars
donovan at example dot com
21-Oct-2008 11:15
21-Oct-2008 11:15
SyCo
21-Aug-2008 05:52
21-Aug-2008 05:52
Here's a very simple function for debugging. It's far from perfect but I find it very handy. It outputs the var value and the var name on a new line. The problem is it'll echo any vars and their name if they share the same value. No big deal when debugging and saves the hassle of writing the HTML and var name when echoing a variable. (ev=echo variable). Using get_defined_vars() inside a function renames the var name to the functions variable so isn't as useful for debugging. Of course, you'll need access to the $GLOBALS array
<?
function ev($variable){
foreach($GLOBALS as $key => $value){
if($variable===$value){
echo '<p>'.$key.' - '.$value.'</p>';
}
}
}
$a=0;
ev($a);
$b=0;
ev($b);
$c=0;
ev($c);
?>
Will output
a - 0
a - 0
b - 0
a - 0
b - 0
c - 0
kailashbadu at hotmail dot com
03-Mar-2007 05:09
03-Mar-2007 05:09
After a fruitless attempt find a built-in function whic did this, I wrote this functions to find out all the variables (well, those I wanted) in current scope and their values. I believe this is going to be handy in debugging.
<?php
/**
* @desc works out the variables in the current scope(from where function was called).
* Returns an array with variable name as key and vaiable value as value
* @param $varList: variables returned by get_defined_vars() in desired scope.
* $excludeList: variables to be excluded from the list.
* @return array
*/
function getDefinedVars($varList, $excludeList)
{
$temp1 = array_values(array_diff(array_keys($varList), $excludeList));
$temp2 = array();
while (list($key, $value) = each($temp1)) {
global $$value;
$temp2[$value] = $$value;
}
return $temp2;
}
/**
* @desc holds the variable that are to be excluded from the list.
* Add or drop new elements as per your preference.
* @var array
*/
$excludeList = array('GLOBALS', '_FILES', '_COOKIE', '_POST', '_GET', 'excludeList');
//some dummy variables; add your own or include a file.
$firstName = 'kailash';
$lastName = 'Badu';
$test = array('Pratistha', 'sanu', 'fuchhi');
//get all variables defined in current scope
$varList = get_defined_vars();
//Time to call the function
print "<pre>";
print_r(getDefinedVars($varList, $excludeList));
print "</pre>";
?>
zabmilenko at hotmail dot com
31-Aug-2006 09:32
31-Aug-2006 09:32
A little gotcha to watch out for:
If you turn off RegisterGlobals and related, then use get_defined_vars(), you may see something like the following:
<?php
Array
(
[GLOBALS] => Array
(
[GLOBALS] => Array
*RECURSION*
[_POST] => Array()
[_GET] => Array()
[_COOKIE] => Array()
[_FILES] => Array()
)
[_POST] => Array()
[_GET] => Array()
[_COOKIE] => Array()
[_FILES] => Array()
)
?>
Notice that $_SERVER isn't there. It seems that php only loads the superglobal $_SERVER if it is used somewhere. You could do this:
<?php
print '<pre>' . htmlspecialchars(print_r(get_defined_vars(), true)) . '</pre>';
print '<pre>' . htmlspecialchars(print_r($_SERVER, true)) . '</pre>';
?>
And then $_SERVER will appear in both lists. I guess it's not really a gotcha, because nothing bad will happen either way, but it's an interesting curiosity nonetheless.
lbowerh at adelphia dot net
04-Jun-2004 10:19
04-Jun-2004 10:19
Here is a function which generates a debug report for display or email
using get_defined_vars. Great for getting a detailed snapshot without
relying on user input.
<?php
function generateDebugReport($method,$defined_vars,$email="undefined"){
// Function to create a debug report to display or email.
// Usage: generateDebugReport(method,get_defined_vars(),email[optional]);
// Where method is "browser" or "email".
// Create an ignore list for keys returned by 'get_defined_vars'.
// For example, HTTP_POST_VARS, HTTP_GET_VARS and others are
// redundant (same as _POST, _GET)
// Also include vars you want ignored for security reasons - i.e. PHPSESSID.
$ignorelist=array("HTTP_POST_VARS","HTTP_GET_VARS",
"HTTP_COOKIE_VARS","HTTP_SERVER_VARS",
"HTTP_ENV_VARS","HTTP_SESSION_VARS",
"_ENV","PHPSESSID","SESS_DBUSER",
"SESS_DBPASS","HTTP_COOKIE");
$timestamp=date("m/d/y h:m:s");
$message="Debug report created $timestamp\n";
// Get the last SQL error for good measure, where $link is the resource identifier
// for mysql_connect. Comment out or modify for your database or abstraction setup.
global $link;
$sql_error=mysql_error($link);
if($sql_error){
$message.="\nMysql Messages:\n".mysql_error($link);
}
// End MySQL
// Could use a recursive function here. You get the idea ;-)
foreach($defined_vars as $key=>$val){
if(is_array($val) && !in_array($key,$ignorelist) && count($val) > 0){
$message.="\n$key array (key=value):\n";
foreach($val as $subkey=>$subval){
if(!in_array($subkey,$ignorelist) && !is_array($subval)){
$message.=$subkey." = ".$subval."\n";
}
elseif(!in_array($subkey,$ignorelist) && is_array($subval)){
foreach($subval as $subsubkey=>$subsubval){
if(!in_array($subsubkey,$ignorelist)){
$message.=$subsubkey." = ".$subsubval."\n";
}
}
}
}
}
elseif(!is_array($val) && !in_array($key,$ignorelist) && $val){
$message.="\nVariable ".$key." = ".$val."\n";
}
}
if($method=="browser"){
echo nl2br($message);
}
elseif($method=="email"){
if($email=="undefined"){
$email=$_SERVER["SERVER_ADMIN"];
}
$mresult=mail($email,"Debug Report for ".$_ENV["HOSTNAME"]."",$message);
if($mresult==1){
echo "Debug Report sent successfully.\n";
}
else{
echo "Failed to send Debug Report.\n";
}
}
}
?>
jgettys at gnuvox dot com
22-Feb-2002 09:09
22-Feb-2002 09:09
Simple routine to convert a get_defined_vars object to XML.
<?php
function obj2xml($v, $indent='') {
while (list($key, $val) = each($v)) {
if ($key == '__attr') continue;
// Check for __attr
if (is_object($val->__attr)) {
while (list($key2, $val2) = each($val->__attr)) {
$attr .= " $key2=\"$val2\"";
}
}
else $attr = '';
if (is_array($val) || is_object($val)) {
print("$indent<$key$attr>\n");
obj2xml($val, $indent.' ');
print("$indent</$key>\n");
}
else print("$indent<$key$attr>$val</$key>\n");
}
}
//Example object
$x->name->first = "John";
$x->name->last = "Smith";
$x->arr['Fruit'] = 'Bannana';
$x->arr['Veg'] = 'Carrot';
$y->customer = $x;
$y->customer->__attr->id='176C4';
$z = get_defined_vars();
obj2xml($z['y']);
?>
will output:
<customer id="176C4">
<name>
<first>John</first>
<last>Smith</last>
</name>
<arr>
<Fruit>Bannana</Fruit>
<Veg>Carrot</Veg>
</arr>
</customer>