PHP's print_r in JavaScript

How to use

You you can install via yarn add locutus and require this function via const print_r = require('locutus/php/var/print_r').

It is important to use a bundler that supports tree-shaking so that you only ship the functions that you actually use to your browser, instead of all of Locutus, which is massive. Examples are: Parcel, webpack, or rollup.js. For server-side use this is typically less of a concern.

Examples

Please note that these examples are distilled from test cases that automatically verify our functions still work correctly. This could explain some quirky ones.

#	code	expected result
1	print_r(1, true)	'1'

Here’s what our current JavaScript equivalent to PHP's print_r looks like.

module.exports = function print_r(array, returnVal) {
  //  discuss at: https://locutus.io/php/print_r/
  // original by: Michael White (https://getsprink.com)
  // improved by: Ben Bryan
  // improved by: Brett Zamir (https://brett-zamir.me)
  // improved by: Kevin van Zonneveld (https://kvz.io)
  //    input by: Brett Zamir (https://brett-zamir.me)
  //   example 1: print_r(1, true)
  //   returns 1: '1'

  const echo = require('../strings/echo')

  let output = ''
  const padChar = ' '
  const padVal = 4

  const _repeatChar = function (len, padChar) {
    let str = ''
    for (let i = 0; i < len; i++) {
      str += padChar
    }
    return str
  }
  const _formatArray = function (obj, curDepth, padVal, padChar) {
    if (curDepth > 0) {
      curDepth++
    }

    const basePad = _repeatChar(padVal * curDepth, padChar)
    const thickPad = _repeatChar(padVal * (curDepth + 1), padChar)
    let str = ''

    if (typeof obj === 'object' && obj !== null && obj.constructor) {
      str += 'Array\n' + basePad + '(\n'
      for (const key in obj) {
        if (Object.prototype.toString.call(obj[key]) === '[object Array]') {
          str += thickPad
          str += '['
          str += key
          str += '] => '
          str += _formatArray(obj[key], curDepth + 1, padVal, padChar)
        } else {
          str += thickPad
          str += '['
          str += key
          str += '] => '
          str += obj[key]
          str += '\n'
        }
      }
      str += basePad + ')\n'
    } else if (obj === null || obj === undefined) {
      str = ''
    } else {
      // for our "resource" class
      str = obj.toString()
    }

    return str
  }

  output = _formatArray(array, 0, padVal, padChar)

  if (returnVal !== true) {
    echo(output)
    return true
  }
  return output
}

A community effort

Not unlike Wikipedia, Locutus is an ongoing community effort. Our philosophy follows The McDonald’s Theory. This means that we assimilate first iterations with imperfections, hoping for others to take issue with-and improve them. This unorthodox approach has worked very well to foster fun and fruitful collaboration, but please be reminded to use our creations at your own risk. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" has never been more true than for Locutus.

Now go and: [ View on GitHub | Edit on GitHub | View Raw ]

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