How to "echo" a class?

Question

This is probably really easy but I can't seem to figure out how to print/echo a class so I can find out some details about it.

I know this doesn't work, but this is what I'm trying to do:

<?php echo $class; ?>

What is the correct way to achieve something like this?

Answer 1

You could try adding a toString method to your class. You can then echo some useful information, or call a render method to generate HTML or something!

The __toString method is called when you do something like the following:

echo $class;

or

$str = (string)$class;

The example linked is as follows:

<?php
// Declare a simple class
class TestClass
{
    public $foo;

    public function __construct($foo) {
        $this->foo = $foo;
    }

    public function __toString() {
        return $this->foo;
    }
}

$class = new TestClass('Hello');
echo $class;
?>

Answer 2

If you just want to print the contents of the class for debugging purposes, use print_r or var_dump.

Answer 3

Use var_dump on an instance of your class.

<?php
$my_class = new SomeClass();
var_dump( $my_class );
?>