PHP reference

var_export

Prints a value as PHP code.

Syntax

var_export(mixed $value, bool $return = false): ?string

Parameter	Type	Description
$value	mixed	The value.
$return	bool	Optional. `true` returns the text.

?stringA string with the code when the second argument is set.

The result can be pasted into a program:

<?php
 
var_export(['name' => 'Anna', 'active' => true]);

Output:

array (
  'name' => 'Anna',
  'active' => true,
)

This is how settings are saved to a code file: file_put_contents('config.php', '<?php return ' . var_export($config, true) . ';').

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