- var_dump: documentation ( source)
<?php
$object = new StdClass();
$object->{'1'} = 'test';
/**
* object(stdClass)#1 (1) {
* ["1"]=>
* string(4) "test"
* }
*/
$array = (array) $object;
/**
* array(1) {
* ["1"]=>
* string(4) "test"
* }
*/
var_dump($object);
// NULL
var_dump($array);
// NULL