PHP 4.0 Bug #8972 Updated: Referenced variables and unset()

ID: 8972 User Update by: aulbach@unter.franken.de Old-Status: Closed Status: Open Bug Type: Scripting Engine problem Description: Referenced variables and unset() Dosn't solve my problem and the fact, that PHPs behavior is unuseable doing the thing I need it for. I have been written an ugly workarround in PHP to make PHP working like I would expect it to. During this I found out some other things, so in my eyes it remains as a bug, cause <? function test(&$bla) { unset($bla['hugo']); $bla['hugo']=3; } $bla=Array( 'hugo'=>1, 'huba'=>2 ); test($bla); print_r($bla); ?> works as expected (Array ( [huba] => 2 [hugo] => 3 ) - what was the *least* thing I expected). So PHP works not harmonious with referenced variables, which is really a thing I cannot use in any way and will by sure cause many unexpected bugs for other developers - even if they read the documented behaviour for references very carefully. Please would you be so kind to change the state of this bug (sorry, it IS a bug) to closed when PHP solves this problem as nearly everybody would expect it to; cause otherwise there could be the danger, that there will be no chance to change PHPs behavior, cause everybody expect it to behave like the mentioned bug. :-) If you don't agree with me, just read the user contributed notes for 'References Explained'. Previous Comments: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [2001-03-06 08:12:11] stas@php.net No, it won't work that way (your first example). Unset breaks the reference. Please read the "References explained" part in the manual. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [2001-01-28 19:40:52] aulbach@unter.franken.de I found another bug (see id #8937) in connection with unset(). [Unset dosn´t work properly since august 1999] <? function test(&$bla) { unset($bla); $bla="huhu"; } $bla="HIHI"; test($bla); echo $bla; ?> This will return "HIHI" instead of an expected "" or "huhu". This bug exists cause unset() unsets the reference to $bla, not $bla itself. This also depends the GLOBAL-statement (see #8937)! This is a bug, cause it is against the PHP-concept of making no big difference between reference and value [ $bla=1; $hugo=&$bla; $hugo=2 is in the sight of $bla the same as $bla=1; $bla=2; ] If I want to delete &$bla the correct expression is unset(&$bla). unset($bla) has always to delete the value and all references to it. (that's just my opinion :-) A fix of this bug will produce some compatibility problems with scripts, which has been written into PHP4 (cause the bug is very old). But a fix should be done, cause many developers won't mind, that unseting a reference is in the sight of PHP a completly other thing than unseting a value. There should be no/very less problems with upgrading PHP3-scripts. PS: Just a small thought. In autumn last year I programmed constructs like the following <? $bla=array(1,array(1,array(1,2,3),3),3); $ref=&$bla[2][2]; unset($ref); ?> And I wondered, that this won't work as expected. Now I know why. A correct solution would be to unset the inner array(1,2,3) and $ref... any other behaviour will break the mentioned handling of PHP. Thougth 2: <? $bla="HIHI"; $ref=&$bla; unset($ref); $ref="huhu"; ?> What is the correct value of $bla. "" (empty) or "huhu"? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Full Bug description available at: http://bugs.php.net/?id=8972