Home Backend Development PHP Tutorial php reference (&) usage

php reference (&) usage

Nov 24, 2017 am 09:26 AM
php Quote usage

Quoted in PHP means: different names access the same variable content. PHP is different from pointers in C language. The pointer in C language stores the address where the content of the variable is stored in memory. Let’s take a look at php Quote (&) usage

Variable reference
PHP’s reference allows you to use two variables to point to the same content.

<?php
$a="ABC";
$b =&$a;
echo $a;//这里输出:ABC
echo $b;//这里输出:ABC
$b="EFG";
echo $a;//这里$a的值变为EFG 所以输出EFG
echo $b;//这里输出EFG
?>
Copy after login

Function call by address
I won’t say more about call by address. The code is given directly below.

function test(&$a)
{
$a=$a+100;
}
$b=1;
echo $b;//输出1
test($b); //这里$b传递给函数的其实是$b的变量内容所处的内存地址,通过在函数里改变$a的值 就可以改变$b的值了
echo "<br>";
echo $b;//输出101
Copy after login

It should be noted that if test(1); here, an error will occur. Think about the reason yourself
The reference return of the function
Look at the code first

function &test()
{
static $b=0;//申明一个静态变量
$b=$b+1;
echo $b;
return $b;
}
$a=test();//这条语句会输出 $b的值 为1
$a=5;
$a=test();//这条语句会输出 $b的值 为2
$a=&test();//这条语句会输出 $b的值 为3
$a=5;
$a=test();//这条语句会输出 $b的值 为6
Copy after login

Explained below Next:
What you get through $a=test(); in this way is not actually a function reference return, which is no different from an ordinary function call. As for the reason: This is the regulation of PHP
PHP stipulates that $a= The &test(); method obtains the reference return of the function.
As for what is a reference return (the PHP manual says: Reference return is used when you want to use a function to find which variable the reference should be bound to.) This nonsense made me unable to understand it for a long time.
Using the above example to explain, it means that calling a function in $a=test() method only assigns the value of the function to $a, and $a does not make any changes. It will not affect $b
in the function. If the function is called through $a=&test(), its function is to point the memory address of the $b variable in return $b to the memory address of the $a variable. The same place
produces the equivalent of this effect ($a=&b;), so changing the value of $a also changes the value of $b, so after executing

$a=&test();
$a=5;
Copy after login

, the value of $b changes to 5

The static variable is used here to let everyone understand the reference return of the function. In fact, the reference return of the function is mostly used in
object

<?php
class a{
var $abc="ABC";
}
$b=new a;
$c=$b;
echo $b->abc;//这里输出ABC
echo $c->abc;//这里输出ABC
$b->abc="DEF";
echo $c->abc;//这里输出DEF
?>
Copy after login

The above code is the running effect in PHP5

In PHP5, the copying of objects is achieved through references. In the above column, $b=new a; $c=$b; is actually equivalent to $b=new a; $c=&$b;
The default in PHP5 is to call the object by reference, but sometimes you may want to Create a copy of an object and hope that changes to the original object will not affect the copy. For this purpose, PHP defines a special method called clone.
The role of references
If the program is relatively large, references There are many variables in the same object, and you want to clear it manually after using the object. I personally recommend using the "&" method, and then using $var=null to clear it.
OthersIn other cases, use the default of php5 Method. In addition, for the transfer of large arrays in php5, it is recommended to use the "&" method, after all, it saves memory space.

Unreference

When you unset a reference, you just break the binding between the
variable name and the variable content. This does not mean that the variable contents are destroyed. For example:

<?php
$a = 1;
$b =& $a;
unset ($a);
?>
Copy after login

will not unset $b, just $a.

global reference

When declaring a variable with global $var, a reference to the global variable is actually established. That is the same as doing:

<?php
$var =& $GLOBALS["var"];
?>
Copy after login

This means that, for example, unset $var will not unset a global variable.


$this
Copy after login

In a method of an object, $this is always a reference to the object that calls it.

//Here’s another little episode

The pointing (similar to pointer) function of the address in php is not implemented by the user himself, but is implemented by the Zend core, and is quoted in php It is the principle of "copy-on-write", that is, unless a write operation occurs, variables or objects pointing to the same address will not be copied.
Popular speaking
1: If there is the following code

$a="ABC";
$b=$a;
Copy after login

In fact, $a and $b point to the same memory address at this time, not that $a and $b occupy different spaces. Memory

2: If you add the following code to the above code

$a="EFG";
Copy after login



because $a and $b point to The data in the memory needs to be rewritten. At this time, the Zend core will automatically determine and automatically produce a data copy of $a for $b, and reapply for a piece of memory for storage.


Related recommendations:

Several common session functions in PHP

The difference between 0 and null in PHP

The most complete php stringProcessing function


The above is the detailed content of php reference (&) usage. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

Statement of this Website
The content of this article is voluntarily contributed by netizens, and the copyright belongs to the original author. This site does not assume corresponding legal responsibility. If you find any content suspected of plagiarism or infringement, please contact admin@php.cn

Hot AI Tools

Undresser.AI Undress

Undresser.AI Undress

AI-powered app for creating realistic nude photos

AI Clothes Remover

AI Clothes Remover

Online AI tool for removing clothes from photos.

Undress AI Tool

Undress AI Tool

Undress images for free

Clothoff.io

Clothoff.io

AI clothes remover

Video Face Swap

Video Face Swap

Swap faces in any video effortlessly with our completely free AI face swap tool!

Hot Tools

Notepad++7.3.1

Notepad++7.3.1

Easy-to-use and free code editor

SublimeText3 Chinese version

SublimeText3 Chinese version

Chinese version, very easy to use

Zend Studio 13.0.1

Zend Studio 13.0.1

Powerful PHP integrated development environment

Dreamweaver CS6

Dreamweaver CS6

Visual web development tools

SublimeText3 Mac version

SublimeText3 Mac version

God-level code editing software (SublimeText3)

Hot Topics

Java Tutorial
1664
14
PHP Tutorial
1268
29
C# Tutorial
1246
24
Explain JSON Web Tokens (JWT) and their use case in PHP APIs. Explain JSON Web Tokens (JWT) and their use case in PHP APIs. Apr 05, 2025 am 12:04 AM

JWT is an open standard based on JSON, used to securely transmit information between parties, mainly for identity authentication and information exchange. 1. JWT consists of three parts: Header, Payload and Signature. 2. The working principle of JWT includes three steps: generating JWT, verifying JWT and parsing Payload. 3. When using JWT for authentication in PHP, JWT can be generated and verified, and user role and permission information can be included in advanced usage. 4. Common errors include signature verification failure, token expiration, and payload oversized. Debugging skills include using debugging tools and logging. 5. Performance optimization and best practices include using appropriate signature algorithms, setting validity periods reasonably,

PHP Program to Count Vowels in a String PHP Program to Count Vowels in a String Feb 07, 2025 pm 12:12 PM

A string is a sequence of characters, including letters, numbers, and symbols. This tutorial will learn how to calculate the number of vowels in a given string in PHP using different methods. The vowels in English are a, e, i, o, u, and they can be uppercase or lowercase. What is a vowel? Vowels are alphabetic characters that represent a specific pronunciation. There are five vowels in English, including uppercase and lowercase: a, e, i, o, u Example 1 Input: String = "Tutorialspoint" Output: 6 explain The vowels in the string "Tutorialspoint" are u, o, i, a, o, i. There are 6 yuan in total

Explain late static binding in PHP (static::). Explain late static binding in PHP (static::). Apr 03, 2025 am 12:04 AM

Static binding (static::) implements late static binding (LSB) in PHP, allowing calling classes to be referenced in static contexts rather than defining classes. 1) The parsing process is performed at runtime, 2) Look up the call class in the inheritance relationship, 3) It may bring performance overhead.

What are PHP magic methods (__construct, __destruct, __call, __get, __set, etc.) and provide use cases? What are PHP magic methods (__construct, __destruct, __call, __get, __set, etc.) and provide use cases? Apr 03, 2025 am 12:03 AM

What are the magic methods of PHP? PHP's magic methods include: 1.\_\_construct, used to initialize objects; 2.\_\_destruct, used to clean up resources; 3.\_\_call, handle non-existent method calls; 4.\_\_get, implement dynamic attribute access; 5.\_\_set, implement dynamic attribute settings. These methods are automatically called in certain situations, improving code flexibility and efficiency.

PHP and Python: Comparing Two Popular Programming Languages PHP and Python: Comparing Two Popular Programming Languages Apr 14, 2025 am 12:13 AM

PHP and Python each have their own advantages, and choose according to project requirements. 1.PHP is suitable for web development, especially for rapid development and maintenance of websites. 2. Python is suitable for data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence, with concise syntax and suitable for beginners.

PHP in Action: Real-World Examples and Applications PHP in Action: Real-World Examples and Applications Apr 14, 2025 am 12:19 AM

PHP is widely used in e-commerce, content management systems and API development. 1) E-commerce: used for shopping cart function and payment processing. 2) Content management system: used for dynamic content generation and user management. 3) API development: used for RESTful API development and API security. Through performance optimization and best practices, the efficiency and maintainability of PHP applications are improved.

PHP: A Key Language for Web Development PHP: A Key Language for Web Development Apr 13, 2025 am 12:08 AM

PHP is a scripting language widely used on the server side, especially suitable for web development. 1.PHP can embed HTML, process HTTP requests and responses, and supports a variety of databases. 2.PHP is used to generate dynamic web content, process form data, access databases, etc., with strong community support and open source resources. 3. PHP is an interpreted language, and the execution process includes lexical analysis, grammatical analysis, compilation and execution. 4.PHP can be combined with MySQL for advanced applications such as user registration systems. 5. When debugging PHP, you can use functions such as error_reporting() and var_dump(). 6. Optimize PHP code to use caching mechanisms, optimize database queries and use built-in functions. 7

The Enduring Relevance of PHP: Is It Still Alive? The Enduring Relevance of PHP: Is It Still Alive? Apr 14, 2025 am 12:12 AM

PHP is still dynamic and still occupies an important position in the field of modern programming. 1) PHP's simplicity and powerful community support make it widely used in web development; 2) Its flexibility and stability make it outstanding in handling web forms, database operations and file processing; 3) PHP is constantly evolving and optimizing, suitable for beginners and experienced developers.

See all articles