Question

This question is generic, and I would simply like to know how to dump objects to log files. In order to clarify things, i am elaborating through an example.

I have been successfully using magento observers to call methods when certain events happen.
As an example, I am observing for when a shipment is saved via :

<sales_order_shipment_save_after>

and i’m successfully calling a method. I would like to grab the shipment and simply dump the object to a log file. eg.

public function newShipment(Varien_Event_Observer $observer)
{
    $shipment = $observer->getEvent()->getShipment();
    $shipId = $shipment->getId();
    Mage::log("shipment ({$shipId}) created/saved", null, 'shipments.log');
    //trying to dump $shipment data into the log file
    Mage::log("({var_dump($shipment)}) ------", null, 'shipments.log');
    Mage::log("----------------------------", null, 'shipments.log');
}

The shipment id is printed into the log file just fine, but obviously it does not dump the object the way i want it to as the code I have written is wrong.

Can anyone tell me how I could dump an object to a log file and perhaps give me some advice on logging in general?

thanks very much.

Answer 1

If you are in Developer Mode you can try if the object supports debug output via $object->debug().

• http://magebase.com/magento-tutorials/create-your-own-log-files-with-magelog/