That number is Z_OBJ_HANDLE_PP(struc)
where struc
is a zval
which leads to Z_OBJVAL(zval).handle
which leads to (zval).value.obj
.
See as well http://php.net/manual/en/internals2.variables.intro.php
In short I would say it’s the object identifier written in decimal form (ref):
php_printf("%sobject(%s)#%d (%d) {\n", COMMON, class_name, Z_OBJ_HANDLE_PP(struc), myht ? zend_hash_num_elements(myht) : 0);
And not the count of objects ever created.