call-time pass-by-reference in OCI8

Hi, I have been having a few 'problems' binding variables for using cursors within php4 using the OCI8 functionality. When I pass the variables by reference I am getting the message "Warning: Call-time pass-by-reference has been deprecated - argument passed by value; If you would like to pass it by reference, modify the declaration of ocibindbyname(). If you would like to enable call-time pass-by-reference, you can set allow_call_time_pass_reference to true in your INI file. However, future versions may not support this any longer." It's the thought of rewriting php's OCI8 functionality that worries me. Presumably there is good reason for the deprecation of pass-by-reference. Can someone explain to me the reasoning behind this move and the alternatives to passing variables by reference. (I realise I can pass by value but I know of no languages that bar variable pass-by-reference. Although I don't know that many languages Tim Parkin Web Development Manager Didio, Leeds UK