How can you recreate an array from var_dump output in PHP?

Recovering Array Data from var_dump Output

While var_export and serialize offer convenient solutions for converting arrays into human-readable strings and reconstructing them, respectively, they do not suffice for this code challenge. The goal here is to explore an optimized and creative approach to extracting the array structure from var_dump's output.

Custom Function for Array Extraction

The solution involves converting the var_dump output into a serialized string, which can then be unserialized to recreate the original array. To achieve this, the unvar_dump() function is employed:

Code:

<code class="php">function unvar_dump($str) {
    if (strpos($str, "\n") === false) {
        //Add new lines:
        $regex = array(
            '#(\[.*?\]=>)#',
            '#(string\(|int\(|float\(|array\(|NULL|object\(|})#',
        );
        $str = preg_replace($regex, "\n\1", $str);
        $str = trim($str);
    }
    $regex = array(
        '#^\040*NULL\040*$#m',
        '#^\s*array\((.*?)\)\s*{\s*$#m',
        '#^\s*string\((.*?)\)\s*(.*?)$#m',
        '#^\s*int\((.*?)\)\s*$#m',
        '#^\s*bool\(true\)\s*$#m',
        '#^\s*bool\(false\)\s*$#m',
        '#^\s*float\((.*?)\)\s*$#m',
        '#^\s*\[(\d+)\]\s*=>\s*$#m',
        '#\s*?\r?\n\s*#m',
    );
    $replace = array(
        'N',
        'a:\1:{',
        's:\1:\2',
        'i:\1',
        'b:1',
        'b:0',
        'd:\1',
        'i:\1',
        ';'
    );
    $serialized = preg_replace($regex, $replace, $str);
    $func = create_function(
        '$match', 
        'return "s:".strlen($match[1]).":\"".$match[1]."\"";'
    );
    $serialized = preg_replace_callback(
        '#\s*\["(.*?)"\]\s*=>#', 
        $func,
        $serialized
    );
    $func = create_function(
        '$match', 
        'return "O:".strlen($match[1]).":\"".$match[1]."\":".$match[2].":{";'
    );
    $serialized = preg_replace_callback(
        '#object\((.*?)\).*?\((\d+)\)\s*{\s*;#', 
        $func,
        $serialized
    );
    $serialized = preg_replace(
        array('#};#', '#{;#'), 
        array('}', '{'), 
        $serialized
    );

    return unserialize($serialized);
}

**Usage:** To use the function, simply pass the var_dump output as the input:

$originalArray = unvar_dump(var_dump($data));

Where $data is the original array that was var_dumped. The resulting $originalArray will now be a fully reconstructed array.

**Tested on Complex Structures**

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