kintDumpVar

KintDumpVar is a function from the Kint PHP debugging library that outputs a structured, human-readable dump of a variable. It is designed to provide more context than traditional PHP dump methods, showing information such as type, class names for objects, and the structure of arrays and other data.

The function aims to present data in a readable format with optional enhancements like colorization and collapsible sections, depending on the environment and configuration. It helps developers quickly understand complex data structures during debugging and development.

KintDumpVar accepts the variable to inspect and optional parameters for a title and for returning the dump as a string instead of printing it. A typical usage pattern is to call kintDumpVar($data) or kintDumpVar($data, 'Data', true) to retrieve the output instead of displaying it directly.

It is commonly used in development workflows to inspect data within templates, controllers, or CLI scripts. The Kint library is usually installed via Composer (for example, raveren/kint) and loaded through an autoloader, making the function available in the project.

Security and performance considerations are important when using KintDumpVar; dumps should be disabled or restricted in production environments to avoid exposing sensitive information. When enabled, they are intended to aid debugging rather than serve as a production logging mechanism.

See also: Kint::dump(), d(), dd(), var_dump, print_r.