Hide specific class fields from print_r or var_dump

Question

Is it possible to hide a specific class fields from print_r ?

Answer 1

New Magic method __debugInfo() was introduced in PHP 5.6 that will allow you to modify the default behaviour of var_dump() when dumping your objects.

Have a look at the documentation.

Example:

prop = $val;
    }

    public function __debugInfo() {
        return [
            'propSquared' => $this->prop ** 2,
        ];
    }
}

var_dump(new C(42));
?>

Returns:

object(C)#1 (1) {
  ["propSquared"]=>
  int(1764)
}

Although this question is 4 years old, I'm sure someone will find this useful in the future.