Debugging PHP Code in the Browser

December 04, 2019

2019 12 04

In JavaScript, you can use console.log('whatever') for troubleshooting directly in your browser. However, when working with PHP, a little trick is required to accomplish the same thing. Here are the steps:

  1. Create a function named debug_to_console to handle the output to the console. Add this code to your PHP file:

    function debug_to_console($data) {
        $output = $data;
        if (is_array($output)) {
            $output = implode(',', $output);
        }
    
        echo "<script>console.log('Debug Objects: " . $output . "');</script>";
    }
  2. On the line where you need to output to the console, insert the following code:

    debug_to_console("Test");
  3. If you need to debug an object, you can log it like this:

    debug_to_console(json_encode($foo));

After following these steps, open your browser's developer tools. You should be able to see the PHP object displayed in the console using console.log.


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Victor Leung, who blog about business, technology and personal development. Happy to connect on LinkedIn