print_r Output Changed

[bsmither]

After switching from PHP 5.3 on Windows Server 2003 to PHP 7.4.3 on Linux Mint 19.3 (Tricia Cinnamon), I find that the output of print_r() has changed.

If we look at the documentation (https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.print-r.php), the provided example output is as it was on my earlier machine:

<pre>
Array
(
    [a] => apple
    [b] => banana
    [c] => Array
        (
            [0] => x
            [1] => y
            [2] => z
        )
)
</pre>

However, on the second machine, the output is:

<pre>
Array
(
    [a] => apple
    [b] => banana
    [c] => Array
        (
            [0] => x
            [1] => y
            [2] => z
        )
<blank line>
)
</pre>

Note the unexpected new line after each recursed array's closing parenthesis. The new line is not present after the outermost array closing parenthesis.

Also to note, there is a newer version of XDebug installed.

My question is: Is this a bug? (Follow-on question: if possible to determine at which version the output changed, what version would that be?)

This difference is causing existing code to not be able to correctly parse that output.

[chhorn]

print_r is just a debug function without any format expectations. parsing this is mostly wrong. use a proper data exchange format.

[StevenOliver]

Same thing when I tried it, too.
If you don't like blank lines, you could try var_export($array) instead of print_r($array)

[bsmither]

I wouldn't know what to look for when searching PHP's bug tracking system.

That's why I asked here - maybe there is someone here who is far, far more into understanding the innards of PHP who could definitely say the extra line endings is a bug, and whether or not it is even directly associated with print_r(), or if the extra line endings were coded into the PHP source elsewhere and its appearance in print_r() is a knock-on effect.

 

[Barand]

Why are you trying to get your data from print_r() output in the first place?

[chhorn]

It's not a bug, parsing print_r is not an inteded feature. if you still think it's a bug, you can just open an issue in the bugtracker, but i bet you get a similar answer.

[benanamen]

On 4/20/2020 at 2:25 AM, bsmither said:

This difference is causing existing code to not be able to correctly parse that output.

Your doing something wrong. Code should not be parsing print_r.