OK here is a weird idea just because I have nothing better to do 🙂
unset($bookmark);
foreach($GLOBALS as $n=>$v)$bookmark[$n]=(is_array($v)?md5(serialize($v)):$v);
//we now have the state of globals at this point
#now do some stuff, have fun, take over the world, etc..
require('ruletheworld.php');
//now we could compare bookmark to globals - and determine what values were set/changed by this component, and send that in an array to a db or email if we wanted...
anyone have any thoughts on this and how to do it most effectively? I imagine there are times where I would like to know the effect a coponent or code block has and store it. Thanks