Ampersand before function

PHP
1

I know this is probably something fairly simple, but I have not seen it before. What is the difference between:

function &somefunc()
{...

and

function somefunc()
{...

I see it again when the function is called:

$instance =& somefunc();

Specifically what does the ampersand do?

Thanks :tup:

2

http://www.php.net/manual/en/language.references.return.php

3

It’s a good thing to know what passing by reference is and how to use it properly. You’re bound to run into it sooner or later.

I would avoid using passing by reference as it may lead to unexpected results. Here’s a good article on it: http://schlueters.de/blog/archives/141-References-and-foreach.html