#43736 [NEW]: Cannot return an overloaded property by reference

From: robin_fernandes at uk dot ibm dot com Operating system: Windows PHP version: 5.2.5 PHP Bug Type: Scripting Engine problem Bug description: Cannot return an overloaded property by reference Description: ------------ Even with a __get() that returns by reference, attempting to return an overloaded property by reference directly will return by value with a notice. A work-around is to assign the overloaded property by reference to another variable, and return that variable. However, I think it should be possible to return the property by reference directly. This affects 5.2.5 and the latest 5.3 and 6.0 snaps. Reproduce code: --------------- Testcase over 20 lines - see: http://pastebin.com/f35a74bdb Expected result: ---------------- Get reference to global via return-by-ref __get() called implicitly - OK: string(13) "First change!" Get reference to global via return-by-ref __get() called explicitly from return-by-ref function - OK: string(14) "Second change!" Get reference to global via return-by-ref __get() called implicitly from return-by-ref function: string(13) "Third change!" Actual result: -------------- Get reference to global via return-by-ref __get() called implicitly - OK: string(13) "First change!" Get reference to global via return-by-ref __get() called explicitly from return-by-ref function - OK: string(14) "Second change!" Get reference to global via return-by-ref __get() called implicitly from return-by-ref function: Notice: Only variable references should be returned by reference in %s on line 20 string(8) "original" -- Edit bug report at http://bugs.php.net/?id=43736&edit=1 -- Try a CVS snapshot (PHP 4.4): http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=43736&r=trysnapshot44 Try a CVS snapshot (PHP 5.2): http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=43736&r=trysnapshot52 Try a CVS snapshot (PHP 5.3): http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=43736&r=trysnapshot53 Try a CVS snapshot (PHP 6.0): http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=43736&r=trysnapshot60 Fixed in CVS: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=43736&r=fixedcvs Fixed in release: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=43736&r=alreadyfixed Need backtrace: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=43736&r=needtrace Need Reproduce Script: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=43736&r=needscript Try newer version: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=43736&r=oldversion Not developer issue: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=43736&r=support Expected behavior: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=43736&r=notwrong Not enough info: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=43736&r=notenoughinfo Submitted twice: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=43736&r=submittedtwice register_globals: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=43736&r=globals PHP 3 support discontinued: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=43736&r=php3 Daylight Savings: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=43736&r=dst IIS Stability: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=43736&r=isapi Install GNU Sed: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=43736&r=gnused Floating point limitations: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=43736&r=float No Zend Extensions: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=43736&r=nozend MySQL Configuration Error: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=43736&r=mysqlcfg