- print_r: documentation ( source)
<?php
$a = new stdClass();
$tmp = (array) $a;
if ($a == null) {
echo "null";
print_r($a);
} else if (empty($a)){
echo "empty";
print_r($a);
}else if (!isset($a)){
echo "set";
print_r($a);
} else if (empty($tmp)) {
echo "var_dump = true";
}