Variables and References Article
A week ago PHP 4.4.0rc1 was released - this release addresses major problems with references in PHP. But not many people are fully aware of how variables and references actually work in PHP. This is where my latest article in PHP Architect comes into play. It explains in details how assigning variables, passing variables to functions and returning variables from functions work - both by-value and by-reference.
Comments
Thanx for the article, it gives a deep insight into PHP internals.
However, there's one issue left unspoken, that is PHP5 objects internal model. It's obvious they're not just variables...
How are they implemented actually?
Consider the following lines in PHP5:
$a = new Foo(); $b = $a;
Is it equivalent internally in PHP5 to this:
$a = new Foo(); $b =& $a;
If not what the difference? Is it actually "healthy" to use & with objects in PHP5? Is there speed overhead?
I'm asking all these questions because we're using PHP5 with applications which were written solely for PHP4 yet using OOP. These applications use & almost everywhere and i wonder how PHP5 treats it internally....
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Updated an information and a bench
Created 2 benches
Created 4 picnic_tables, a bench, and a fitness_station; Updated a pub and a sport club
Created 2 benches and 2 waste_baskets; Updated 4 benches, a bus_stop, and a cafe; Confirmed a dentist
Created 3 waste_baskets, 2 main entrances, and a bench; Deleted a cycle_barrier, a bench, and a waste_basket
Created an information; Updated a waste_basket and a bench
Updated 2 waste_baskets and a bench
Created 3 benches
Created a waste_basket; Updated 2 benches and a tree
I walked 3.5km in 35m31s
Created a main entrance and a home entrance
Created an entrance
Updated a house building
Created an entrance
I walked 5.8km in 1h15m06s
I've just finished reading "A Cheese-Monger's Tour de France", by Ned Palmer.
Now I want to try many of those! 🧀
#books #BookList2026 #bookstodon #WorldBookDay
I'm thrilled to announce that I'll be speaking at the 23rd edition of #phpday, the international PHP conference in Italy, organised by @grusp.
I’ll be presenting a talk titled: "Better Debugging With Xdebug".
It's in Verona, Italy, on May 14-15th 2026.
You can use my speaker’s discount code "speaker_10OFF" for 10% off at https://www.phpday.it/tickets/?utm_medium=organic&utm_source=linkedin&utm_campaign=post-speaker
I walked 5.5km in 1h11m00s
I walked 1.1km in 9m37s
Merged pull request #1066
PHP 8.6: Changes to opcache optimisations wrt function arguments
I walked 10.5km in 1h49m54s
Fixed building type
Fixed addresses and building type
Updated a bus_stop, a waste_basket, and a bench
Shortlink
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