What is the JavaScript equivalent of var_dump or print_r in PHP?
JavascriptObjectDumpVar DumpJavascript Problem Overview
I would like to see the structure of object in JavaScript (for debugging). Is there anything similar to var_dump in PHP?
Javascript Solutions
Solution 1 - Javascript
Most modern browsers have a console in their developer tools, useful for this sort of debugging.
console.log(myvar);
Then you will get a nicely mapped out interface of the object/whatever in the console.
Check out the console documentation for more details.
Solution 2 - Javascript
Most common way:
console.log(object);
However I must mention JSON.stringify which is useful to dump variables in non-browser scripts:
console.log( JSON.stringify(object) );
The JSON.stringify function also supports built-in prettification as pointed out by Simon Zyx.
Example:
var obj = {x: 1, y: 2, z: 3};
console.log( JSON.stringify(obj, null, 2) ); // spacing level = 2
The above snippet will print:
{
"x": 1,
"y": 2,
"z": 3
}
On caniuse.com you can view the browsers that support natively the JSON.stringify function: http://caniuse.com/json
You can also use the Douglas Crockford library to add JSON.stringify support on old browsers: https://github.com/douglascrockford/JSON-js
Docs for JSON.stringify: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/JSON/stringify
I hope this helps :-)
Solution 3 - Javascript
I wrote this JS function dump() to work like PHP's var_dump().
To show the contents of the variable in an alert window: dump(variable)
To show the contents of the variable in the web page: dump(variable, 'body')
To just get a string of the variable: dump(variable, 'none')
/* repeatString() returns a string which has been repeated a set number of times */
function repeatString(str, num) {
out = '';
for (var i = 0; i < num; i++) {
out += str;
}
return out;
}
/*
dump() displays the contents of a variable like var_dump() does in PHP. dump() is
better than typeof, because it can distinguish between array, null and object.
Parameters:
v: The variable
howDisplay: "none", "body", "alert" (default)
recursionLevel: Number of times the function has recursed when entering nested
objects or arrays. Each level of recursion adds extra space to the
output to indicate level. Set to 0 by default.
Return Value:
A string of the variable's contents
Limitations:
Can't pass an undefined variable to dump().
dump() can't distinguish between int and float.
dump() can't tell the original variable type of a member variable of an object.
These limitations can't be fixed because these are *features* of JS. However, dump()
*/
function dump(v, howDisplay, recursionLevel) {
howDisplay = (typeof howDisplay === 'undefined') ? "alert" : howDisplay;
recursionLevel = (typeof recursionLevel !== 'number') ? 0 : recursionLevel;
var vType = typeof v;
var out = vType;
switch (vType) {
case "number":
/* there is absolutely no way in JS to distinguish 2 from 2.0
so 'number' is the best that you can do. The following doesn't work:
var er = /^[0-9]+$/;
if (!isNaN(v) && v % 1 === 0 && er.test(3.0)) {
out = 'int';
}
*/
break;
case "boolean":
out += ": " + v;
break;
case "string":
out += "(" + v.length + '): "' + v + '"';
break;
case "object":
//check if null
if (v === null) {
out = "null";
}
//If using jQuery: if ($.isArray(v))
//If using IE: if (isArray(v))
//this should work for all browsers according to the ECMAScript standard:
else if (Object.prototype.toString.call(v) === '[object Array]') {
out = 'array(' + v.length + '): {\n';
for (var i = 0; i < v.length; i++) {
out += repeatString(' ', recursionLevel) + " [" + i + "]: " +
dump(v[i], "none", recursionLevel + 1) + "\n";
}
out += repeatString(' ', recursionLevel) + "}";
}
else {
//if object
let sContents = "{\n";
let cnt = 0;
for (var member in v) {
//No way to know the original data type of member, since JS
//always converts it to a string and no other way to parse objects.
sContents += repeatString(' ', recursionLevel) + " " + member +
": " + dump(v[member], "none", recursionLevel + 1) + "\n";
cnt++;
}
sContents += repeatString(' ', recursionLevel) + "}";
out += "(" + cnt + "): " + sContents;
}
break;
default:
out = v;
break;
}
if (howDisplay == 'body') {
var pre = document.createElement('pre');
pre.innerHTML = out;
document.body.appendChild(pre);
}
else if (howDisplay == 'alert') {
alert(out);
}
return out;
}
Solution 4 - Javascript
The var_dump equivalent in JavaScript? Simply, there isn't one.
But, that doesn't mean you're left helpless. Like some have suggested, use Firebug (or equivalent in other browsers), but unlike what others suggested, don't use console.log when you have a (slightly) better tool console.dir:
console.dir(object)
> Prints an interactive listing of all properties of the object. This > looks identical to the view that you would see in the DOM tab.
Solution 5 - Javascript
As others have already mentioned, the best way to debug your variables is to use a modern browser's developer console (e.g. Chrome Developer Tools, Firefox+Firebug, Opera Dragonfly (which now disappeared in the new Chromium-based (Blink) Opera, but as developers say, "Dragonfly is not dead though we cannot give you more information yet").
But in case you need another approach, there's a really useful site called php.js:
which provides "JavaScript alternatives to PHP functions" - so you can use them the similar way as you would in PHP. I will copy-paste the appropriate functions to you here, BUT be aware that these codes can get updated on the original site in case some bugs are detected, so I suggest you visiting the phpjs.org site! (Btw. I'm NOT affiliated with the site, but I find it extremely useful.)
var_dump() in JavaScript
Here is the code of the JS-alternative of var_dump():
http://phpjs.org/functions/var_dump/
it depends on the echo() function: http://phpjs.org/functions/echo/
function var_dump() {
// discuss at: http://phpjs.org/functions/var_dump/
// original by: Brett Zamir (http://brett-zamir.me)
// improved by: Zahlii
// improved by: Brett Zamir (http://brett-zamir.me)
// depends on: echo
// note: For returning a string, use var_export() with the second argument set to true
// test: skip
// example 1: var_dump(1);
// returns 1: 'int(1)'
var output = '',
pad_char = ' ',
pad_val = 4,
lgth = 0,
i = 0;
var _getFuncName = function(fn) {
var name = (/\W*function\s+([\w\$]+)\s*\(/)
.exec(fn);
if (!name) {
return '(Anonymous)';
}
return name[1];
};
var _repeat_char = function(len, pad_char) {
var str = '';
for (var i = 0; i < len; i++) {
str += pad_char;
}
return str;
};
var _getInnerVal = function(val, thick_pad) {
var ret = '';
if (val === null) {
ret = 'NULL';
} else if (typeof val === 'boolean') {
ret = 'bool(' + val + ')';
} else if (typeof val === 'string') {
ret = 'string(' + val.length + ') "' + val + '"';
} else if (typeof val === 'number') {
if (parseFloat(val) == parseInt(val, 10)) {
ret = 'int(' + val + ')';
} else {
ret = 'float(' + val + ')';
}
}
// The remaining are not PHP behavior because these values only exist in this exact form in JavaScript
else if (typeof val === 'undefined') {
ret = 'undefined';
} else if (typeof val === 'function') {
var funcLines = val.toString()
.split('\n');
ret = '';
for (var i = 0, fll = funcLines.length; i < fll; i++) {
ret += (i !== 0 ? '\n' + thick_pad : '') + funcLines[i];
}
} else if (val instanceof Date) {
ret = 'Date(' + val + ')';
} else if (val instanceof RegExp) {
ret = 'RegExp(' + val + ')';
} else if (val.nodeName) {
// Different than PHP's DOMElement
switch (val.nodeType) {
case 1:
if (typeof val.namespaceURI === 'undefined' || val.namespaceURI === 'http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml') {
// Undefined namespace could be plain XML, but namespaceURI not widely supported
ret = 'HTMLElement("' + val.nodeName + '")';
} else {
ret = 'XML Element("' + val.nodeName + '")';
}
break;
case 2:
ret = 'ATTRIBUTE_NODE(' + val.nodeName + ')';
break;
case 3:
ret = 'TEXT_NODE(' + val.nodeValue + ')';
break;
case 4:
ret = 'CDATA_SECTION_NODE(' + val.nodeValue + ')';
break;
case 5:
ret = 'ENTITY_REFERENCE_NODE';
break;
case 6:
ret = 'ENTITY_NODE';
break;
case 7:
ret = 'PROCESSING_INSTRUCTION_NODE(' + val.nodeName + ':' + val.nodeValue + ')';
break;
case 8:
ret = 'COMMENT_NODE(' + val.nodeValue + ')';
break;
case 9:
ret = 'DOCUMENT_NODE';
break;
case 10:
ret = 'DOCUMENT_TYPE_NODE';
break;
case 11:
ret = 'DOCUMENT_FRAGMENT_NODE';
break;
case 12:
ret = 'NOTATION_NODE';
break;
}
}
return ret;
};
var _formatArray = function(obj, cur_depth, pad_val, pad_char) {
var someProp = '';
if (cur_depth > 0) {
cur_depth++;
}
var base_pad = _repeat_char(pad_val * (cur_depth - 1), pad_char);
var thick_pad = _repeat_char(pad_val * (cur_depth + 1), pad_char);
var str = '';
var val = '';
if (typeof obj === 'object' && obj !== null) {
if (obj.constructor && _getFuncName(obj.constructor) === 'PHPJS_Resource') {
return obj.var_dump();
}
lgth = 0;
for (someProp in obj) {
lgth++;
}
str += 'array(' + lgth + ') {\n';
for (var key in obj) {
var objVal = obj[key];
if (typeof objVal === 'object' && objVal !== null && !(objVal instanceof Date) && !(objVal instanceof RegExp) &&
!
objVal.nodeName) {
str += thick_pad + '[' + key + '] =>\n' + thick_pad + _formatArray(objVal, cur_depth + 1, pad_val,
pad_char);
} else {
val = _getInnerVal(objVal, thick_pad);
str += thick_pad + '[' + key + '] =>\n' + thick_pad + val + '\n';
}
}
str += base_pad + '}\n';
} else {
str = _getInnerVal(obj, thick_pad);
}
return str;
};
output = _formatArray(arguments[0], 0, pad_val, pad_char);
for (i = 1; i < arguments.length; i++) {
output += '\n' + _formatArray(arguments[i], 0, pad_val, pad_char);
}
this.echo(output);
}
print_r() in JavaScript
Here is the print_r() function:
http://phpjs.org/functions/print_r/
It depends on echo() too.
function print_r(array, return_val) {
// discuss at: http://phpjs.org/functions/print_r/
// original by: Michael White (http://getsprink.com)
// improved by: Ben Bryan
// improved by: Brett Zamir (http://brett-zamir.me)
// improved by: Kevin van Zonneveld (http://kevin.vanzonneveld.net)
// input by: Brett Zamir (http://brett-zamir.me)
// depends on: echo
// example 1: print_r(1, true);
// returns 1: 1
var output = '',
pad_char = ' ',
pad_val = 4,
d = this.window.document,
getFuncName = function(fn) {
var name = (/\W*function\s+([\w\$]+)\s*\(/)
.exec(fn);
if (!name) {
return '(Anonymous)';
}
return name[1];
};
repeat_char = function(len, pad_char) {
var str = '';
for (var i = 0; i < len; i++) {
str += pad_char;
}
return str;
};
formatArray = function(obj, cur_depth, pad_val, pad_char) {
if (cur_depth > 0) {
cur_depth++;
}
var base_pad = repeat_char(pad_val * cur_depth, pad_char);
var thick_pad = repeat_char(pad_val * (cur_depth + 1), pad_char);
var str = '';
if (typeof obj === 'object' && obj !== null && obj.constructor && getFuncName(obj.constructor) !==
'PHPJS_Resource') {
str += 'Array\n' + base_pad + '(\n';
for (var key in obj) {
if (Object.prototype.toString.call(obj[key]) === '[object Array]') {
str += thick_pad + '[' + key + '] => ' + formatArray(obj[key], cur_depth + 1, pad_val, pad_char);
} else {
str += thick_pad + '[' + key + '] => ' + obj[key] + '\n';
}
}
str += base_pad + ')\n';
} else if (obj === null || obj === undefined) {
str = '';
} else {
// for our "resource" class
str = obj.toString();
}
return str;
};
output = formatArray(array, 0, pad_val, pad_char);
if (return_val !== true) {
if (d.body) {
this.echo(output);
} else {
try {
// We're in XUL, so appending as plain text won't work; trigger an error out of XUL
d = XULDocument;
this.echo('<pre xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" style="white-space:pre;">' + output + '</pre>');
} catch (e) {
// Outputting as plain text may work in some plain XML
this.echo(output);
}
}
return true;
}
return output;
}
var_export() in JavaScript
You may also find the var_export() alternative useful, which also depends on echo():
http://phpjs.org/functions/var_export/
function var_export(mixed_expression, bool_return) {
// discuss at: http://phpjs.org/functions/var_export/
// original by: Philip Peterson
// improved by: johnrembo
// improved by: Brett Zamir (http://brett-zamir.me)
// input by: Brian Tafoya (http://www.premasolutions.com/)
// input by: Hans Henrik (http://hanshenrik.tk/)
// bugfixed by: Brett Zamir (http://brett-zamir.me)
// bugfixed by: Brett Zamir (http://brett-zamir.me)
// depends on: echo
// example 1: var_export(null);
// returns 1: null
// example 2: var_export({0: 'Kevin', 1: 'van', 2: 'Zonneveld'}, true);
// returns 2: "array (\n 0 => 'Kevin',\n 1 => 'van',\n 2 => 'Zonneveld'\n)"
// example 3: data = 'Kevin';
// example 3: var_export(data, true);
// returns 3: "'Kevin'"
var retstr = '',
iret = '',
value,
cnt = 0,
x = [],
i = 0,
funcParts = [],
// We use the last argument (not part of PHP) to pass in
// our indentation level
idtLevel = arguments[2] || 2,
innerIndent = '',
outerIndent = '',
getFuncName = function(fn) {
var name = (/\W*function\s+([\w\$]+)\s*\(/)
.exec(fn);
if (!name) {
return '(Anonymous)';
}
return name[1];
};
_makeIndent = function(idtLevel) {
return (new Array(idtLevel + 1))
.join(' ');
};
__getType = function(inp) {
var i = 0,
match, types, cons, type = typeof inp;
if (type === 'object' && (inp && inp.constructor) &&
getFuncName(inp.constructor) === 'PHPJS_Resource') {
return 'resource';
}
if (type === 'function') {
return 'function';
}
if (type === 'object' && !inp) {
// Should this be just null?
return 'null';
}
if (type === 'object') {
if (!inp.constructor) {
return 'object';
}
cons = inp.constructor.toString();
match = cons.match(/(\w+)\(/);
if (match) {
cons = match[1].toLowerCase();
}
types = ['boolean', 'number', 'string', 'array'];
for (i = 0; i < types.length; i++) {
if (cons === types[i]) {
type = types[i];
break;
}
}
}
return type;
};
type = __getType(mixed_expression);
if (type === null) {
retstr = 'NULL';
} else if (type === 'array' || type === 'object') {
outerIndent = _makeIndent(idtLevel - 2);
innerIndent = _makeIndent(idtLevel);
for (i in mixed_expression) {
value = this.var_export(mixed_expression[i], 1, idtLevel + 2);
value = typeof value === 'string' ? value.replace(/</g, '<')
.
replace(/>/g, '>'): value;
x[cnt++] = innerIndent + i + ' => ' +
(__getType(mixed_expression[i]) === 'array' ?
'\n' : '') + value;
}
iret = x.join(',\n');
retstr = outerIndent + 'array (\n' + iret + '\n' + outerIndent + ')';
} else if (type === 'function') {
funcParts = mixed_expression.toString()
.
match(/function .*?\((.*?)\) \{([\s\S]*)\}/);
// For lambda functions, var_export() outputs such as the following:
// '\000lambda_1'. Since it will probably not be a common use to
// expect this (unhelpful) form, we'll use another PHP-exportable
// construct, create_function() (though dollar signs must be on the
// variables in JavaScript); if using instead in JavaScript and you
// are using the namespaced version, note that create_function() will
// not be available as a global
retstr = "create_function ('" + funcParts[1] + "', '" +
funcParts[2].replace(new RegExp("'", 'g'), "\\'") + "')";
} else if (type === 'resource') {
// Resources treated as null for var_export
retstr = 'NULL';
} else {
retstr = typeof mixed_expression !== 'string' ? mixed_expression :
"'" + mixed_expression.replace(/(["'])/g, '\\$1')
.
replace(/\0/g, '\\0') + "'";
}
if (!bool_return) {
this.echo(retstr);
return null;
}
return retstr;
}
echo() in JavaScript
http://phpjs.org/functions/echo/
function echo() {
// discuss at: http://phpjs.org/functions/echo/
// original by: Philip Peterson
// improved by: echo is bad
// improved by: Nate
// improved by: Brett Zamir (http://brett-zamir.me)
// improved by: Brett Zamir (http://brett-zamir.me)
// improved by: Brett Zamir (http://brett-zamir.me)
// revised by: Der Simon (http://innerdom.sourceforge.net/)
// bugfixed by: Eugene Bulkin (http://doubleaw.com/)
// bugfixed by: Brett Zamir (http://brett-zamir.me)
// bugfixed by: Brett Zamir (http://brett-zamir.me)
// bugfixed by: EdorFaus
// input by: JB
// note: If browsers start to support DOM Level 3 Load and Save (parsing/serializing),
// note: we wouldn't need any such long code (even most of the code below). See
// note: link below for a cross-browser implementation in JavaScript. HTML5 might
// note: possibly support DOMParser, but that is not presently a standard.
// note: Although innerHTML is widely used and may become standard as of HTML5, it is also not ideal for
// note: use with a temporary holder before appending to the DOM (as is our last resort below),
// note: since it may not work in an XML context
// note: Using innerHTML to directly add to the BODY is very dangerous because it will
// note: break all pre-existing references to HTMLElements.
// example 1: echo('<div><p>abc</p><p>abc</p></div>');
// returns 1: undefined
var isNode = typeof module !== 'undefined' && module.exports && typeof global !== "undefined" && {}.toString.call(
global) == '[object global]';
if (isNode) {
var args = Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments);
return console.log(args.join(' '));
}
var arg = '';
var argc = arguments.length;
var argv = arguments;
var i = 0;
var holder, win = this.window;
var d = win.document;
var ns_xhtml = 'http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml';
// If we're in a XUL context
var ns_xul = 'http://www.mozilla.org/keymaster/gatekeeper/there.is.only.xul';
var stringToDOM = function(str, parent, ns, container) {
var extraNSs = '';
if (ns === ns_xul) {
extraNSs = ' xmlns:html="' + ns_xhtml + '"';
}
var stringContainer = '<' + container + ' xmlns="' + ns + '"' + extraNSs + '>' + str + '</' + container + '>';
var dils = win.DOMImplementationLS;
var dp = win.DOMParser;
var ax = win.ActiveXObject;
if (dils && dils.createLSInput && dils.createLSParser) {
// Follows the DOM 3 Load and Save standard, but not
// implemented in browsers at present; HTML5 is to standardize on innerHTML, but not for XML (though
// possibly will also standardize with DOMParser); in the meantime, to ensure fullest browser support, could
// attach http://svn2.assembla.com/svn/brettz9/DOMToString/DOM3.js (see http://svn2.assembla.com/svn/brettz9/DOMToString/DOM3.xhtml for a simple test file)
var lsInput = dils.createLSInput();
// If we're in XHTML, we'll try to allow the XHTML namespace to be available by default
lsInput.stringData = stringContainer;
// synchronous, no schema type
var lsParser = dils.createLSParser(1, null);
return lsParser.parse(lsInput)
.firstChild;
} else if (dp) {
// If we're in XHTML, we'll try to allow the XHTML namespace to be available by default
try {
var fc = new dp()
.parseFromString(stringContainer, 'text/xml');
if (fc && fc.documentElement && fc.documentElement.localName !== 'parsererror' && fc.documentElement.namespaceURI !==
'http://www.mozilla.org/newlayout/xml/parsererror.xml') {
return fc.documentElement.firstChild;
}
// If there's a parsing error, we just continue on
} catch (e) {
// If there's a parsing error, we just continue on
}
} else if (ax) {
// We don't bother with a holder in Explorer as it doesn't support namespaces
var axo = new ax('MSXML2.DOMDocument');
axo.loadXML(str);
return axo.documentElement;
}
/*else if (win.XMLHttpRequest) {
// Supposed to work in older Safari
var req = new win.XMLHttpRequest;
req.open('GET', 'data:application/xml;charset=utf-8,'+encodeURIComponent(str), false);
if (req.overrideMimeType) {
req.overrideMimeType('application/xml');
}
req.send(null);
return req.responseXML;
}*/
// Document fragment did not work with innerHTML, so we create a temporary element holder
// If we're in XHTML, we'll try to allow the XHTML namespace to be available by default
//if (d.createElementNS && (d.contentType && d.contentType !== 'text/html')) {
// Don't create namespaced elements if we're being served as HTML (currently only Mozilla supports this detection in true XHTML-supporting browsers, but Safari and Opera should work with the above DOMParser anyways, and IE doesn't support createElementNS anyways)
if (d.createElementNS && // Browser supports the method
(d.documentElement.namespaceURI || // We can use if the document is using a namespace
d.documentElement.nodeName.toLowerCase() !== 'html' || // We know it's not HTML4 or less, if the tag is not HTML (even if the root namespace is null)
(d.contentType && d.contentType !== 'text/html') // We know it's not regular HTML4 or less if this is Mozilla (only browser supporting the attribute) and the content type is something other than text/html; other HTML5 roots (like svg) still have a namespace
)) {
// Don't create namespaced elements if we're being served as HTML (currently only Mozilla supports this detection in true XHTML-supporting browsers, but Safari and Opera should work with the above DOMParser anyways, and IE doesn't support createElementNS anyways); last test is for the sake of being in a pure XML document
holder = d.createElementNS(ns, container);
} else {
// Document fragment did not work with innerHTML
holder = d.createElement(container);
}
holder.innerHTML = str;
while (holder.firstChild) {
parent.appendChild(holder.firstChild);
}
return false;
// throw 'Your browser does not support DOM parsing as required by echo()';
};
var ieFix = function(node) {
if (node.nodeType === 1) {
var newNode = d.createElement(node.nodeName);
var i, len;
if (node.attributes && node.attributes.length > 0) {
for (i = 0, len = node.attributes.length; i < len; i++) {
newNode.setAttribute(node.attributes[i].nodeName, node.getAttribute(node.attributes[i].nodeName));
}
}
if (node.childNodes && node.childNodes.length > 0) {
for (i = 0, len = node.childNodes.length; i < len; i++) {
newNode.appendChild(ieFix(node.childNodes[i]));
}
}
return newNode;
} else {
return d.createTextNode(node.nodeValue);
}
};
var replacer = function(s, m1, m2) {
// We assume for now that embedded variables do not have dollar sign; to add a dollar sign, you currently must use {$$var} (We might change this, however.)
// Doesn't cover all cases yet: see http://php.net/manual/en/language.types.string.php#language.types.string.syntax.double
if (m1 !== '\\') {
return m1 + eval(m2);
} else {
return s;
}
};
this.php_js = this.php_js || {};
var phpjs = this.php_js;
var ini = phpjs.ini;
var obs = phpjs.obs;
for (i = 0; i < argc; i++) {
arg = argv[i];
if (ini && ini['phpjs.echo_embedded_vars']) {
arg = arg.replace(/(.?)\{?\$(\w*?\}|\w*)/g, replacer);
}
if (!phpjs.flushing && obs && obs.length) {
// If flushing we output, but otherwise presence of a buffer means caching output
obs[obs.length - 1].buffer += arg;
continue;
}
if (d.appendChild) {
if (d.body) {
if (win.navigator.appName === 'Microsoft Internet Explorer') {
// We unfortunately cannot use feature detection, since this is an IE bug with cloneNode nodes being appended
d.body.appendChild(stringToDOM(ieFix(arg)));
} else {
var unappendedLeft = stringToDOM(arg, d.body, ns_xhtml, 'div')
.cloneNode(true); // We will not actually append the div tag (just using for providing XHTML namespace by default)
if (unappendedLeft) {
d.body.appendChild(unappendedLeft);
}
}
} else {
// We will not actually append the description tag (just using for providing XUL namespace by default)
d.documentElement.appendChild(stringToDOM(arg, d.documentElement, ns_xul, 'description'));
}
} else if (d.write) {
d.write(arg);
} else {
console.log(arg);
}
}
}
Solution 6 - Javascript
[Firebug][1].
Then, in your javascript:
var blah = {something: 'hi', another: 'noway'};
console.debug("Here is blah: %o", blah);
Now you can look at the console, click on the statement and see what is inside blah
[1]: http://getfirebug.com/console.html
Solution 7 - Javascript
A nice simple solution for parsing a JSON Response to HTML.
var json_response = jQuery.parseJSON(data);
html_response += 'JSON Response:<br />';
jQuery.each(json_response, function(k, v) {
html_response += outputJSONReponse(k, v);
});
function outputJSONReponse(k, v) {
var html_response = k + ': ';
if(jQuery.isArray(v) || jQuery.isPlainObject(v)) {
jQuery.each(v, function(j, w) {
html_response += outputJSONReponse(j, w);
});
} else {
html_response += v + '<br />';
}
return html_response;
}
Solution 8 - Javascript
You could also try this function. Can't remember the original author, but all credits goes to him/her.
Works like a charm - 100% the same as var_dump in PHP.
Check it out.
function dump(arr,level) {
var dumped_text = "";
if(!level) level = 0;
//The padding given at the beginning of the line.
var level_padding = "";
for(var j=0;j<level+1;j++) level_padding += " ";
if(typeof(arr) == 'object') { //Array/Hashes/Objects
for(var item in arr) {
var value = arr[item];
if(typeof(value) == 'object') { //If it is an array,
dumped_text += level_padding + "'" + item + "' ...\n";
dumped_text += dump(value,level+1);
} else {
dumped_text += level_padding + "'" + item + "' => \"" + value + "\"\n";
}
}
} else { //Stings/Chars/Numbers etc.
dumped_text = "===>"+arr+"<===("+typeof(arr)+")";
}
return dumped_text;
}
// Example:
var employees = [
{ id: '1', sex: 'm', city: 'Paris' },
{ id: '2', sex: 'f', city: 'London' },
{ id: '3', sex: 'f', city: 'New York' },
{ id: '4', sex: 'm', city: 'Moscow' },
{ id: '5', sex: 'm', city: 'Berlin' }
]
// Open dev console (F12) to see results:
console.log(dump(employees));
Solution 9 - Javascript
I put this forward to help anyone needing something readily practical for giving you a nice, prettified (indented) picture of a JS Node. None of the other solutions worked for me for a Node ("cyclical error" or whatever...). This walks you through the tree under the DOM Node (without using recursion) and gives you the depth, tagName (if applicable) and textContent (if applicable).
Any other details from the nodes you encounter as you walk the tree under the head node can be added as per your interest...
function printRNode( node ){
// make sort of human-readable picture of the node... a bit like PHP print_r
if( node === undefined || node === null ){
throwError( 'node was ' + typeof node );
}
let s = '';
// NB walkDOM could be made into a utility function which you could
// call with one or more callback functions as parameters...
function walkDOM( headNode ){
const stack = [ headNode ];
const depthCountDowns = [ 1 ];
while (stack.length > 0) {
const node = stack.pop();
const depth = depthCountDowns.length - 1;
// TODO non-text, non-BR nodes could show more details (attributes, properties, etc.)
const stringRep = node.nodeType === 3? 'TEXT: |' + node.nodeValue + '|' : 'tag: ' + node.tagName;
s += ' '.repeat( depth ) + stringRep + '\n';
const lastIndex = depthCountDowns.length - 1;
depthCountDowns[ lastIndex ] = depthCountDowns[ lastIndex ] - 1;
if( node.childNodes.length ){
depthCountDowns.push( node.childNodes.length );
stack.push( ... Array.from( node.childNodes ).reverse() );
}
while( depthCountDowns[ depthCountDowns.length - 1 ] === 0 ){
depthCountDowns.splice( -1 );
}
}
}
walkDOM( node );
return s;
}