Why Are Phantom Properties Added to DateTime Objects When Using Print_r()?

Print_r() Alters DateTime Objects

Print_r() adds properties to DateTime objects, enabling introspection during debugging. This behavior, a side effect of internal functionality introduced in PHP 5.3, assigns phantom public properties to instances dumped to text.

To avoid errors arising from these properties, use reflection instead. However, seeking these properties is not advisable as they are not officially defined in the class and their data may change in future PHP versions.

Instead, access the desired information through the following API-defined methods:

<code class="php">// $obj->date
$obj->format('Y-m-d H:i:s');

// $obj->timezone
$obj->getTimezone()->getName();
// or...
$obj->getTimezone()->getOffset();
// or...
$obj->getTimezone()->listAbbreviations();</code>

The timezone_type property, an internal value describing the timezone string type (time offset, abbreviation, or identifier), is not accessible through the PHP API.

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