When I use return statement in PHP, will the result be returned by value or by reference?
Thanks! Andree.
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2 Answers
In PHP, everything is returned by value by default (I'm sure there are exceptions to this but I can't think of any atm). Except objects (PHP>5.0) which are passed by reference by default.
1 Comment
Sam
What did you mean by "it" in this case? Did the code that prompted your question return an object or?
Apparently, it is returned by reference. This simple code proofs it.
<?php
class InsideObject
{
public $variable;
}
class OutsideObject
{
private $insideObject;
public function __construct()
{
$this->insideObject = new InsideObject();
$this->insideObject->variable = '1';
}
public function echoVar()
{
echo $this->insideObject->variable;
}
public function getInsideObject()
{
return $this->insideObject;
}
}
$object = new OutsideObject();
$object->echoVar(); // should be 1
$insideObject = $object->getInsideObject();
$insideObject->variable = '2';
$object->echoVar(); // should be 2