How can I capture the result of var_dump to a string?

Question

I\'d like to capture the output of var_dump to a string.

The PHP documentation says;

As with anything that outputs its result directly to the

Answer 1

From the PHP manual:

This function displays structured information about one or more expressions that includes its type and value.

So, here is the real return version of PHP's var_dump(), which actually accepts a variable-length argument list:

function var_dump_str()
{
    $argc = func_num_args();
    $argv = func_get_args();

    if ($argc > 0) {
        ob_start();
        call_user_func_array('var_dump', $argv);
        $result = ob_get_contents();
        ob_end_clean();
        return $result;
    }

    return '';
}