Bug #70415 [Opn->Nab]: Reference &$array[] appends NULL element

Edit report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=70415&edit=1 ID: 70415 Updated by: nikic@php.net Reported by: vovan-ve at yandex dot ru Summary: Reference &$array[] appends NULL element -Status: Open +Status: Not a bug Type: Bug Package: Scripting Engine problem PHP Version: 7.0.0RC1 Block user comment: N Private report: N New Comment: References are note pure reads. Just like you can write =& $foo[2] even if index 2 does not yet exist, you can also write $foo[]. Taking the reference on an undefined index will initialize the index to NULL. Previous Comments: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2015-09-03 03:41:10] vovan-ve at yandex dot ru Description: ------------ Using $array[] for reading is permitted. But reference &$array[] erroneously is allowed and appends NULL element silently. Reproduced in all PHP versions up to latest 7.0.0rc1 https://3v4l.org/0l8OE Test script: --------------- function bar(&$var) {} $foo = [10, 20]; $ref = &$foo[]; bar($foo[]); var_dump($foo); Expected result: ---------------- Fatal error: Cannot use [] for reading in ... Actual result: -------------- array(4) { [0]=> int(10) [1]=> int(20) [2]=> &NULL [3]=> NULL } ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Edit this bug report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=70415&edit=1