   #PHP Manual References Explained What References Do Passing by
   Reference

                  PHP Manual
   Prev Chapter 14. References Explained Next
   ______________________________________________________________________

What References Are Not

   As said before, references aren't pointers. That means, the following
   construct won't do what you expect:

   <?php
   function foo (&$var)
   {
       $var =& $GLOBALS["baz"];
   }
   foo($bar);
   ?>

   What happens is that $var in foo will be bound with $bar in caller,
   but then it will be re-bound with $GLOBALS["baz"]. There's no way to
   bind $bar in the calling scope to something else using the reference
   mechanism, since $bar is not available in the function foo (it is
   represented by $var, but $var has only variable contents and not
   name-to-value binding in the calling symbol table).
   ______________________________________________________________________

   Prev               Home                 Next
   What References Do  Up  Passing by Reference
