Bug #69379 [Com]: zend_parse_parameters and reference, flag is reversed

Edit report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=69379&edit=1 ID: 69379 Comment by: danack@php.net Reported by: danack@php.net Summary: zend_parse_parameters and reference, flag is reversed Status: Open Type: Bug Package: Scripting Engine problem Operating System: N/A PHP Version: master-Git-2015-04-05 (Git) Block user comment: N Private report: N New Comment: I guess it is documented in the upgrading guide - https://wiki.php.net/phpng-upgrading "arguments passed by reference should be assigned into the referenced value. It's possible to separte such arguments, to get referenced value at first place." So that really means, if your function wants to accept a parameter by reference it must change from 'z' to 'z/' ? Previous Comments: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2015-04-05 15:15:39] nikic@php.net "/" means "separate" and indeed in PHP 7 it is required in all cases where you want to modify a passed zval, even if it's a reference. But I'm not sure I get what the bug report is about, is this a documentation problem? If so, could you please point to which docs you're quoting here? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2015-04-05 15:07:10] danack@php.net Description: ------------ It seems that in PHP7 the '/' flag has had it's meaning reversed. It is documented as: "'/' - This indicates that the preceding parameter should be separated from the calling parameter, in case you wish to modify it locally in the function without modifying the original calling parameter." i.e. if you want a function to accept a parameter by reference you should _not_ use this flag, so that when you set the variable inside the function, the new value is seen outside by any reference to the variable outside the function. However it is now _required_ to set the '/' flag to pass a variable by reference. Example code from - https://github.com/mkoppanen/imagick/blob/phpseven/imagick_class.c#L11636 This code works to set the parameter in 5.x: zend_parse_parameters(ZEND_NUM_ARGS() TSRMLS_CC, "O|zz", &reference_obj, php_imagick_sc_entry, &z_best_match_offset, &z_similarity); if (z_similarity) { ZVAL_DOUBLE(z_similarity, similarity); } That code needs to be changed to this in 7: zend_parse_parameters(ZEND_NUM_ARGS() TSRMLS_CC, "O|z/z/", &reference_obj, php_imagick_sc_entry, &z_best_match_offset, &z_similarity); if (z_similarity) { ZVAL_DOUBLE(z_similarity, similarity); } It appears this change was done in this commit: https://github.com/php/php-src/commit/c1965f58d4dd3970912dcd6a63ccd5860bae1a97 Test script: --------------- <?php $imagick = new \Imagick(); $imagick->newPseudoImage(640, 480, "magick:logo"); $imagick2 = clone $imagick; $imagick2->cropimage(40, 40, 250, 110); $imagick2->vignetteimage(0, 1, 3, 3); $similarity = 'not set'; $bestMatch = 'not set'; $comparison = $imagick->subImageMatch($imagick2, $bestMatch, $similarity); var_dump($similarity); Expected result: ---------------- float(0.90996121310752) Actual result: -------------- string(7) "not set" ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Edit this bug report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=69379&edit=1