Return by reference question

[spybreak]

Hi!

When I have a function like this:

function &get_something
{
  //…
  return $something; //return a reference
} 

When I assign that function to a variable, do I still have to do:

$var =& get_something(); 

or can I simply do:

$var = get_something(); 

?

[Darchangel]

easier. since you're passing by reference, you don't need to return it in the value or assign it in the code:

function stuff(&$var)
{ $var = $var . ' world'; }
$mssg = 'hello';
stuff($mssg);
echo $mssg;
// echos: hello world 

[spybreak]

Either I don't understand what you mean or I didn't express myself clearly..

I'm talking about return by reference, not pass by reference.

For example, in my code, the get_something() function could return a class.

What I want to know is if I need the extra "&" when assigning the return value to the variable.

$var &= get_something(); //is the & rebundant here given the fact that get_something returns by reference?