Corban, dear! — PHP debug output library. Easy to install and use, this library greatly simplifies the process of debugging PHP applications.

Usage

The library provides several functions that make application debugging easier:

  • cd(), cdx() — outputs information about a variable;
  • cm(), cmx() — outputs a debug message;
  • ci(), cs() — timer initialization and output.

Simple example: 

 include_once('corban.lib.php');
cd ($_SERVER);

corban.lib.php inclusion

It can be included into PHP in several ways: directly in the script using the require or include statements, or auto_prepend_file directive, which can be set directly in php.ini or in .htaccess file (recommended). Before including the file you can define library configuration constants.

An example of inclusion directly in the script by using the require, or include statements: 

 define('CORBAN_OUTPUT', 4);
include_once('corban.lib.php');

An example of inclusion using auto_prepend_file directive in .htaccess file: 

SetEnv	CORBAN_OUTPUT	4
php_value	auto_prepend_file	/path/to/corban.lib.php

Note: You can use special value none to disable auto-prepending if necessary. 

php_value	auto_prepend_file	none

Function reference

cd($val, $msg=null, $die=false) — Outputs a variable value (including objects and resources) with comments. Parameters:

  • $val — The variable to be output.
  • $msg — Displayed variable name and comment in the «varname#comment» format, where «#» — delimiter (optional, null by default).
  • $die — Determines whether to abort the script execution after debug output (optional, false by default).

Example: 

 $a = array (1, 2, 3);
cd($a, 'a#Array a');

Output: 

Array a
  $a  [0] = 1
  $a  [1] = 2
  $a  [2] = 3

cdx($val, $msg=null) — Similar to the cd() function call with $die parameter set to true.

cm($msg, $param=null, $die=false) — Outputs a debug message and a value of a variable without any information about it. Parameters:

  • $msg — Debug message.
  • $param — Variable (optional, null by default).
  • $die — Determines whether to abort the script execution after debug output (optional, false by default).

cmx($msg, $param=null) — Similar to the cm() function call with $die parameter set to true.

ci($name=0) — Initializes timer with the specified name. Used together with cs(). Parameters:

  • $name — Timer name (optional). If not set, default timer is initialized.

cs($name=0, $comment=null) — Displays the value of the timer that was initialized with the specified name $name, or the value of the default timer. Used together with ci(). Parameters:

  • $name — Timer name (optional).
  • $comment — Comment text (optional).

Example: 

 ci ('a');
 sleep(10);
 cs ('a', 'Script execution time:');

Output: 

Script execution time:
10.060

corban_fix_output() — Places the debug output before the closing </body> tag, thereby preventing html devalidation as a result of library usage. Should be called before any output is produced by the script.

corban_shutup() — Forces the debug output to stop. Useful when it is necessary to cease output debug information. For example, to prevent the breaking of outputted data structure, such as output data in the json format or binary data.

Configuration constants

CORBAN_OUTPUT, by default 2 (CORBAN_OUTPUT_BUFFER). Defines the type of debug output. Can take the following values:

  • 1 (CORBAN_OUTPUT_INLINE) to output directly as the function cd() or other functions are called,
  • 2 (CORBAN_OUTPUT_BUFFER) for buffered output at the end of the script execution,
  • 3 (CORBAN_OUTPUT_CONSOLE) to output in the pop-up window,
  • 4 (CORBAN_OUTPUT_FILE) for output to a file (you will also need to define the CORBAN_FILE_PATH constant and set the write permissions).

CORBAN_FORMAT, by default 1 (CORBAN_FORMAT_HTML). Defines the format of the debug output. Can take the following values:

  • 1 (CORBAN_FORMAT_HTML) for output in the html format,
  • 2 (CORBAN_FORMAT_TEXT) for output in plain text.

CORBAN_FIX_OUTPUT, by default not defined. Prevents html devalidation as a result of library usage. Can take any value.

CORBAN_FILE_PATH, by default not defined. Specifies the path to the corban.log, to which the debug output will be written. When this constant is not defined, the library will attempt to write to the file corban.log located in the folder with the script currently executed. It is also necessary to set the write permissions on the file corban.log.

CORBAN_SHOW_CLASS_METHOD, by default not defined. Defines whether object methods will be displayed when dumping an object.

CORBAN_BLABLA, by default not defined. Defines whether to display prefix (CORBAN_PREFIX) before the debug output.

Note: You can define constants through the .htaccess file set by the Apache directive SetEnv. Example: 

SetEnv	CORBAN_OUTPUT	4

Valid html

By default, in the buffered output or output in a popup window modes, to prevent distortions in the design, all debug messages are outputted after the closing </body> tag. This leads to html that is no longer valid.

To avoid this, it is necessary either to define the constant CORBAN_FIX_OUTPUT before library inclusion, or to call the corban_fix_output() after inclusion, but always before any output is produced. After that, all debug messages will be outputted before the closing </body> tag.

Creation history

Development of the “Corban, dear!” library began in 1999 in the Softerra company, in its early days. In 2002 it was released under the terms of GNU GPL as a part of PHP Developer Library. The library was supported and developed outside the company later on.

«Corban» — misspelling of the name of Korben Dallas (the character of The Fifth Element movie).