PHP: use __debugInfo in Message to fix endless var_dump

[bshaffer]

Debugging a Protobuf Message Object

Calling var_dump or print_r on a protobuf message with the Protobuf C extension enabled results very limited, not very useful output:

// Calling var_dump on a Protobuf message (extension enabled):
php > var_dump(new Google\Protobuf\Timestamp());
object(Google\Protobuf\Timestamp)#1 (0) {
}

// Calling print_r on a Protobuf message (extension enabled):
php > var_dump(new Google\Protobuf\Timestamp());
Google\Protobuf\Timestamp Object

When using the Protobuf native library, calls to var_dump and print_r are hard to read and filled with noise:

// Calling var_dump on a Protobuf message (extension disabled):
php > var_dump(new Google\Protobuf\Timestamp());
object(Google\Protobuf\Timestamp)#2 (4) {
  ["desc":"Google\Protobuf\Internal\Message":private]=>
  object(Google\Protobuf\Internal\Descriptor)#424 (13) {
    ["full_name":"Google\Protobuf\Internal\Descriptor":private]=>
    string(25) "google.protobuf.Timestamp"
    ["field":"Google\Protobuf\Internal\Descriptor":private]=>
    array(2) {
      [1]=>
      object(Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor)#428 (14) {
        ["name":"Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor":private]=>
        string(7) "seconds"
        ["json_name":"Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor":private]=>
        string(7) "seconds"
        ["setter":"Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor":private]=>
        string(10) "setSeconds"
        ["getter":"Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor":private]=>
        string(10) "getSeconds"
        ["number":"Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor":private]=>
        int(1)
        ["label":"Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor":private]=>
        int(1)
        ["type":"Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor":private]=>
        int(3)
        ["message_type":"Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor":private]=>
        NULL
        ["enum_type":"Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor":private]=>
        NULL
        ["packed":"Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor":private]=>
        bool(false)
        ["oneof_index":"Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor":private]=>
        int(-1)
        ["proto3_optional":"Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor":private]=>
        bool(false)
        ["containing_oneof":"Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor":private]=>
        NULL
        ["public_desc":"Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor":private]=>
        object(Google\Protobuf\FieldDescriptor)#429 (1) {
          ["internal_desc":"Google\Protobuf\FieldDescriptor":private]=>
          *RECURSION*
        }
      }
// ...

// Calling print_r on a Protobuf message (extension disabled):
php > var_dump(new Google\Protobuf\Timestamp());
Google\Protobuf\Timestamp Object
(
    [desc:Google\Protobuf\Internal\Message:private] => Google\Protobuf\Internal\Descriptor Object
        (
            [full_name:Google\Protobuf\Internal\Descriptor:private] => google.protobuf.Timestamp
            [field:Google\Protobuf\Internal\Descriptor:private] => Array
                (
                    [1] => Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor Object
                        (
                            [name:Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor:private] => seconds
                            [json_name:Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor:private] => seconds
                            [setter:Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor:private] => setSeconds
                            [getter:Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor:private] => getSeconds
                            [number:Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor:private] => 1
                            [label:Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor:private] => 1
                            [type:Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor:private] => 3
                            [message_type:Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor:private] => 
                            [enum_type:Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor:private] => 
                            [packed:Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor:private] => 
                            [oneof_index:Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor:private] => -1
                            [proto3_optional:Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor:private] => 
                            [containing_oneof:Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor:private] => 
                            [public_desc:Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor:private] => Google\Protobuf\FieldDescriptor Object
                                (
                                    [internal_desc:Google\Protobuf\FieldDescriptor:private] => Google\Protobuf\Internal\FieldDescriptor Object
 *RECURSION*
//...

This problem is even worse when debugging instances of RepeatedField, as the result is never-ending.

The fix for this would involve adding support for __debugInfo in the Message class:

    public function __debugInfo()
    {
        return (array) json_decode($this->serializeToJsonString(), true);
    }

For better handling , we can add support for checking specific types (e.g. Google\Protobuf\Timestamp, which returns a string for serializeToJsonString) and adding __debugInfo() for specific classes such as RepeatedField.

[github-actions]

We triage inactive PRs and issues in order to make it easier to find active work. If this issue should remain active or becomes active again, please add a comment.

This issue is labeled inactive because the last activity was over 90 days ago.

[github-actions]

We triage inactive PRs and issues in order to make it easier to find active work. If this issue should remain active or becomes active again, please reopen it.

This issue was closed and archived because there has been no new activity in the 14 days since the inactive label was added.