Overriding var_dump globally?

Question

I don't like the way var_dump prints out objects. I want to override it with this function:

function var_dump($object, $die = true) {
    print '<pre>';
    print_r($object);
    if ($die) die();
}

I know how to override it in my application, but is there a way to override it globally for all sites on a PHP config level?

Answer 1

You can not do that currently (via "good way") in PHP. And more - you shouldn't. var_dump() is doing right for what it's intended: plain output and nothing more. If you want to change that, then by definition you want some user-defined behavior. Therefore:

• Create your own function. That is what you have now. User-defined functions are for user-defined behavior.

• Or else, if you want to do it with var_dump() name by some reason, use namespace like:

    namespace Utils;
    function var_dump($var, $exit=true, $return=true)
    {
       $result = sprintf('<pre>%s</pre>', print_r($var, true));
       if($exit)
       {
          echo $result;
          exit;
       }
       if($return)
       {
          return $result;
       }
       echo $result;
    }
  

  so usage will look like:

    $obj = new StdClass();
    $str = \Utils\var_dump($obj, false);
    //do domething with $str
    echo $str; //or use second false
  

• Worst case: runkit_function_redefine() Remember, this is evil. You should not do that because redefining goes against what is function and why it was defined. It is a global side-effect and you should avoid such behavior.