* Jason Barnett <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> : > Matthew Weier O'Phinney wrote: > ... > > This doesn't demonstrate what the OP was talking about, which is initial > > assignment of an object using a reference operator. The results of this > > make perfect sense to me -- the references are passed exactly as I would > > expect. > > But not exactly as I would expect! I thought that all objects were > created as references, but apparently this is not the case.
Here's what happens (in PHP5) with the statement '$obj = new Class();': * the 'new Class()' construct creates an object * it then returns a reference to the object * assignment is then to the reference Thus, $obj is actually a *pointer* to the object -- not the actual object. > Is there some kind of dereferencing going on when you're using an > object on the right side of the assignment (=) operator? No. It's simpler: you're simply passing around a reference to the object. Before, in PHP4, when you would use assignment, the variable on the left side would receive a *copy* of the object on the right -- a clone of the object. *UNLESS* what you had on the right side was a reference; then it would clone the reference, meaning you have the same behaviour as in PHP5. This is why the $obj =& new Class() idiom occurred in PHP4; that way you could pass around your object safely, because you were simply passing around a reference to an object. PHP5 simplifies this by simply assigning the object reference only in the first place. -- Matthew Weier O'Phinney | WEBSITES: Webmaster and IT Specialist | http://www.garden.org National Gardening Association | http://www.kidsgardening.com 802-863-5251 x156 | http://nationalgardenmonth.org mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] | http://vermontbotanical.org -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
