What\'s the Difference Between \'&=\' and \'&=\' in PHP?

Understanding the "&=" and "&=" Operators in PHP

In PHP, the "&=" and "&=" operators perform specific operations on variables, each serving a distinct purpose.

"&=" Operator: Bitwise AND Assignment

The "&=" operator is the shorthand form of "$a = $a & $b". It performs a bitwise AND operation between two variables and assigns the result back to the first variable. For example:

<code class="php">$a = 5;
$a &= 2; // $a becomes 0, as 5 &amp; 2 in binary is 0000101 &amp; 0000010 = 0000000</code>

"&=" Operator: Reference Assignment

The "&=" operator assigns the first variable as a reference to the second variable. This means that any change made to the first variable will be reflected in the second variable, and vice versa. For example:

<code class="php">$a = 5;
$b =&amp; $a; // $b becomes a reference to $a
$a = 10; // $b also becomes 10, as it is a reference to $a</code>

Additional Resources

For more detailed information on these operators, you can refer to the following resources:

• [PHP Manual: Assignment Operators](https://www.php.net/manual/en/language.operators.assignment.php)
• [Stack Overflow: Difference between "&=" and "&&="](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4248193/difference-between-and)

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