Xdebug will forever change the way you debug your PHP code

Tim Bond

Seattle PHP Meetup - January 10, 2019

What can Xdebug do?

  • Pretty formatting for var_dump
  • Stack traces for Notices, Warnings, Errors and Exceptions
  • Step debugger to use with IDEs
  • Profiler
  • Function call/variable assignment recording
  • Code coverage functionality for use with PHPUnit

var_dump

object(DateTime)#1 (3) { ["date"]=> string(26) "1970-01-01 00:00:00.000000" ["timezone_type"]=> int(3) ["timezone"]=> string(19) "America/Los_Angeles" }

object(DateTime)#1 (3) {
  ["date"]=>
  string(26) "1970-01-01 00:00:00.000000"
  ["timezone_type"]=>
  int(3)
  ["timezone"]=>
  string(19) "America/Los_Angeles"
}

var_dump

            xdebug.overload_var_dump=1
        
object(DateTime)[1]
  public 'date' => string '1970-01-01 00:00:00.000000' (length=26)
  public 'timezone_type' => int 3
  public 'timezone' => string 'America/Los_Angeles' (length=19)
Alternatively: xdebug_var_dump

Error messages

Notice: Trying to get property 'foo' of non-object in index.php on line 3

Error messages

xdebug.default_enable=1 #on by default

Other error reporting tricks

  • Scream: Show errors suppressed by  @
  • Override PHP error display settings:
    • force_error_reporting
    • force_display_errors
  • Dump
  • Collection

Step Debugging

  • Pause script execution on a specific line
  • "Follow" code as it is executed
  • View/edit any variable
  • Execute arbitrary code

Installation

Windows, no PECL, or if all else fails:

pecl install xdebug

Mac, Linux

Installation Wizard

  1. Download php_xdebug-2.6.1-7.2-vc15.dll
  2. Move the downloaded file to C:\xampp\php\ext
  3. Edit C:\xampp\php\php.ini and add the line 
    zend_extension = C:\xampp\php\ext\php_xdebug-2.6.1-7.2-vc15.dll
  4. Restart the webserver

Confirm installation

Normal Request/Response

Request/Response with Debugger

Turn on settings

xdebug.remote_enable=1
xdebug.remote_autostart=1

xdebug.remote_connect_back=1
#Alternatively:
xdebug.remote_host=localhost

#Optional, default 9000
xdebug.remote_port=9000

Then restart the webserver

Turn on the debugger

Debugger states

Off

On

Breakpoints

  • Line on which to stop
  • Can only break where "something happens"
    • Yes:
      • Function call
      • Variable assignment
    • No:
      • Blank line
      • Curly brace

Setting a breakpoint

First Run (Zero Config)

  • Bullet One
  • Bullet Two
  • Bullet Three

The Debugger

Icons

Step Over

Step Into

Force Step Into

Step Out

Run to Cursor

Evaluate Expression

Add method to skip list

Icons

Resume

Stop

View Breakpoints

Mute Breakpoints

Frames

Variables

First Run

Debugger example

Expression Evaluator

Conditional Breakpoints

Wait, it's still not working!

Turn on profiler

xdebug.profiler_enable=1
xdebug.profiler_output_dir=C:\xampp\htdocs\

#XDEBUG_PROFILE GET or POST value
xdebug.profiler_enable_trigger=1

Then restart the webserver

Then reload the page...

Open the cachegrind.out.###### file

Execution Statistics

Call Tree

Bonus tip: Works for JavaScript too!

Bonus Tip: Xdebug with Docker on Mac

docker0 interface is actually on a VM

sudo ifconfig lo0 alias 10.254.254.254 255.255.255.0

https://gist.github.com/vranac/742127587bb57146e665c6a464cf497b

For a permanent solution:

So instead, alias the loopback adapter and send traffic there:

...this has to be run on reboots

Questions