note 36606 modified in function.var-export by aidan

[john holmes] True, but that method would require you to open and read the file into a variable and then unserialize it into another variable. Using a file created with var_export() could simply be include()'d, which will be less code and faster. [kaja] If you are trying to find a way to temporarily save variables into some other file, check out serialize() and unserialize() instead - this one is more useful for its readable property, very handy while debugging. [original post] If you're like me, you're wondering why a function that outputs "correct PHP syntax" is useful. This function can be useful in implementing a cache system. You can var_export() the array into a variable and write it into a file. Writing a string such as <?php $string = '<?php $array = ' . $data . '; ?>'; ?> where $data is the output of var_export() can create a file that can be easily include()d back into the script to recreate $array. The raw output of var_export() could also be eval()d to recreate the array. ---John Holmes... --was-- If you're like me, you're wondering why a function that outputs "correct PHP syntax" is useful. This function can be useful in implementing a cache system. You can var_export() the array into a variable and write it into a file. Writing a string such as <?php $string = '<?php $array = ' . $data . '; ?>'; ?> where $data is the output of var_export() can create a file that can be easily include()d back into the script to recreate $array. The raw output of var_export() could also be eval()d to recreate the array. ---John Holmes... http://www.php.net/manual/en/function.var-export.php