note 21981 deleted from language.variables.scope by danbrown

Note Submitter: cellog at users dot sourceforge dot net ---- regarding May 27 comment. Try this file, and you will see that what I said in my comment holds: <?php $testvar = 1 ; $testvar2 = 2 ; function foo () { global $testvar ; global $testvar2 ; $testvar3 = 6; $testvar = 3 ; //Assigning a constant works as expected. echo "$testvar,$GLOBALS[testvar],$GLOBALS[testvar2],$testvar3 <br>" ; // 3,3,2,6 $testvar = 4 ; //Assigning a variable also works as expected. echo "$testvar,$GLOBALS[testvar],$GLOBALS[testvar2],$testvar3 <br>" ; // 4,4,2,6 $testvar = &$testvar2 ; // Assiging a reference points $testvar at what $testvar2 // is pointing at, which is $GLOBALS[testvar2] echo "$testvar,$GLOBALS[testvar],$GLOBALS[testvar2],$testvar3<br> " ; // 2,4,2,6 $testvar=5 ; // Assigning a value to testvar now modifies $GLOBALS[testvar2] echo "$testvar,$GLOBALS[testvar],$GLOBALS[testvar2],$testvar3<br>" ; //5,4,5,6 $testvar = &$testvar3; echo "$testvar,$GLOBALS[testvar],$GLOBALS[testvar2],$testvar3<br>" ; //6,4,5,6 $testvar = 7; // Assigning a value to testvar now modifies local $testvar3 echo "$testvar,$GLOBALS[testvar],$GLOBALS[testvar2],$testvar3<br>" ; //7,4,5,7 } foo() ; ?> doing $testvar = &$testvar2 assigns $testvar to point at $testvar2, which is pointing at $GLOBALS[testvar2]. Later, I assign $testvar = &$testvar3, which points it at the local variable. The & operator *only* changes what the left-hand variable points at, and not the contents of what it used to point at (to borrow from old-fashioned pointer terminology :).