When developing stuff I need to output the state of some instance in order to inspect it.
While using CakePHP I always had a debug() function which does some kind of var_dump inside a <pre> html element, so the content is readable.
Is something similar in Symfony 2.x too?
exit(\Doctrine\Common\Util\Debug::dump($someVar));
use
\Doctrine\Common\Util\Debug::dump($user);
As of today, one of the best ways to debug in Symfony that I know of is the Ladybug Bundle. Its output is similar to xdebug's, but it has some nice features, like a collapsible tree structure for arays or automatically linking to documentation pages (supporting standard PHP, Doctrine and Symfony).
You can find some great examples of its use on the README.
Now there is a new function in Symfony - dump(), have a look at http://symfony.com/blog/new-in-symfony-2-6-vardumper-component