Why is var_dump not formatting correctly in PHP7?

Question

I use var_dump to debug some php scripts locally where I have php 5.6 installed and it formats beautifully on all browsers.

array (size=1)
  0 => 
    object(WP_Post)[1173]
      public 'ID' => int 33
      public 'post_author' => string '1' (length=1)
      public 'post_date' => string '2018-01-11 17:26:22' (length=19)
      public 'post_date_gmt' => string '2018-01-11 23:26:22'(length=19)

When I upload the same file to a production box with php 7, the output is there, but the format is gone! any reason or clue why this is happening?

array(1) { [0]=> object(stdClass)#1162 (3) { ["ID"]=> string(2) "61" ["post_title"]=> str

I've noticed that I have XDebug installed locally where not remotely, could that be the reason? — WilliamX
– WilliamX, Commented Jan 23, 2018 at 17:49
Yes, it's almost certainly because of xdebug. In fact, if you view the page source on your local version, you'll probably see xdebug specific markup. <pre class='xdebug-var-dump' dir='ltr'>, etc. PHP 7 is not to blame, that's just a coincidence. — Don't Panic
– Don't Panic, Commented Jan 23, 2018 at 18:26

Don't Panic · Accepted Answer · 2018-01-23 18:28:01Z

5

That "beautiful" format is probably because of Xdebug.

But, you can always use <pre> tags.

<?php
    echo "<pre>";
    var_dump($var);
    echo "</pre>";

It's not the same, but will help.

And remember, Xdebug shouldn't be installed/activated on production environment.

edited Jan 23, 2018 at 18:28

Don't Panic

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answered Jan 23, 2018 at 17:49

Felippe Duarte

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WilliamX · Accepted Answer · 2018-01-23 18:45:11Z

-1

XDebug was the main reason! Since I am using Amazon Linux with PHP7, XDebug is not installed by default, so as soon as you install XDebug, var_dump outputs the readable version of the text.

answered Jan 23, 2018 at 18:45

WilliamX

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