scope, array, reference & function

Anon

1/ In the example below,
- In page1, am I sure that the memory space of the $arr is not freed ?
- If I don't put the "&" before the declaration of the function, the echo statement presents the same thing as before. why ?
- my problem is, how to instanciate an array (or object) in a function and return it out.

<page1>
$arr = function2(qr);
echo($arr[0][0]);

<page2>
function &function2(&$qr)
{
$arr = array();
$arr = mysql_fetch_array($qr);
return $arr;
}

2/ if now page1 call a new function1 which call function2, do I have to declare the function1 with "&" if I want to manipulate the array (build in function2) in page1 ?

expecting I'm clear ...thanks!

dad

psr540

answer to your 2 question: yes if you want the array to be passed from function2 to function1 and then be returned by function1, if will need to use reference all the way.

answer to your 1 question, if you want to create the object inside a function and return it to the caller, you need function to return reference, but you can use a difference approach like this:

page1
//create the array before calling function2
// and pass it as a reference.
$arr = array();
function2($qr,$arr);
echo arr[0][0]

page2
function2(&$qr, &$arr)// $qr can be passed either as reference or value
{
$arr = mysql_fetch_array($qr);
return $arr
}

in my opinion, use reference parameter is better than use reference function.

Anon

thanks a lot for your answer but I don't understand why, if I don't put the "&" before the declaration of the function, I retrieve the array in the page1 ?

Is it because $arr = array() represents a pointer on the array?

If yes, &$arr is a pointer on a pointer ?

And what about the question :
"In page1, am I sure that the memory space of the $arr is not freed ? "
and the same question for an object created in a function:
function &test()
{
$obj = new Obj();
return ($obj);
}
I am sure that $obj is not freed outside the function ?

It's often useful to create objects or array in function and return them outside !

dad.