zvals and references

In some code in the COM extension, there is a function that converts COM objects into something that PHP can use as a zval. There is a particular case where the COM object might be one that PHP created as a wrapper for a zval. Given that the code can use some magic to extract the zval * from the COM object, how can I legally return it as a reference to the original object? Can I just increment the refcount and leave it at that, or should I use the copy_ctor? I very much want to be working with a reference to the object and not a copy. --Wez. -- Wez Furlong The Brain Room Ltd.