Variable handling Functions
PHP Manual

get_debug_type

Gets the type name of a variable in a way that is suitable for debugging

Description

string get_debug_type(mixed $value)

Returns the resolved name of the PHP variable value. This function will resolve objects to their class name, resources to their resource type name, and scalar values to their common name as would be used in type declarations.

This function differs from gettype in that it returns type names that are more consistent with actual usage, rather than those present for historical reasons.

Parameters

value

The variable being type checked.

Return Values

Possible values for the returned string are:

Type + State Return Value Notes
null "null" -
Booleans (true or false) "bool" -
Integers "int" -
Floats "float" -
Strings "string" -
Arrays "array" -
Resources "resource (resourcename)" -
Resources (Closed) "resource (closed)" Example: A file stream after being closed with fclose.
Objects from Named Classes The full name of the class including its namespace e.g. Foo\Bar -
Objects from Anonymous Classes "class@anonymous" or parent class name/interface name if the class extends another class or implements an interface e.g. "Foo\Bar@anonymous" Anonymous classes are those created through the $x = new class { ... } syntax

Examples

Example #1 get_debug_type example

<?php

namespace Foo;

echo get_debug_type(null), PHP_EOL;
echo get_debug_type(true), PHP_EOL;
echo get_debug_type(1), PHP_EOL;
echo get_debug_type(0.1), PHP_EOL;
echo get_debug_type("foo"), PHP_EOL;
echo get_debug_type([]), PHP_EOL;

$fp = fopen(__FILE__, 'rb');
echo get_debug_type($fp), PHP_EOL;

fclose($fp);
echo get_debug_type($fp), PHP_EOL;

echo get_debug_type(new \stdClass), PHP_EOL;
echo get_debug_type(new class {}), PHP_EOL;

interface A {}
interface B {}
class C {}

echo get_debug_type(new class implements A {}), PHP_EOL;
echo get_debug_type(new class implements A,B {}), PHP_EOL;
echo get_debug_type(new class extends C {}), PHP_EOL;
echo get_debug_type(new class extends C implements A {}), PHP_EOL;

?>

The above example will output something similar to:

null
bool
int
float
string
array
resource (stream)
resource (closed)
stdClass
class@anonymous
Foo\A@anonymous
Foo\A@anonymous
Foo\C@anonymous
Foo\C@anonymous

See Also

  • gettype
  • get_class