Bug #12775: Incorrect result using references and objects

From: wayne@webmotif.com Operating system: All PHP version: 4.0.6 PHP Bug Type: Scripting Engine problem Bug description: Incorrect result using references and objects If you set a property of an object to a global variable, it is no longer possible to make a copy of that object! Every "copy" becomes a reference. Example: --/ snip /-- class foo { function foo() { $this->test = 'Test'; $GLOBALS['test'] =& $this->test; } } $obj1 = new foo(); $copyOfObj1 = $obj1; // Should be a copy, but is reference $obj1->test = "changed!"; echo $copyOfObj1->test.'<br>'; --/ snip /-- The result of this code is: "changed!" but it should be "Test". $copyOfObj1 should be a copy of $obj1, but instead it acts like a reference. If you unset $GLOBALS['test'] then it copies as it should. This is a bug occurs in all versions of PHP4 on all platforms (from what I can tell). -- Edit bug report at: http://bugs.php.net/?id=12775&edit=1