note 92642 added to language.references.whatdo

Could someone elaborate on what the heck this "Note" is talking about? -------------------- "Note: Not using the & operator causes a copy of the object to be made. If you use $this in the class it will operate on the current instance of the class. The assignment without & will copy the instance (i.e. the object) and $this will operate on the copy, which is not always what is desired. Usually you want to have a single instance to work with, due to performance and memory consumption issues. " -------------------- OK, "use $this in the class" -- is this referring to using $this in a static (ie: class) method? If so, how is there an "instance of the class" to operate on? Then "The assignment without & will copy the instance (i.e. the object) and $this will operate on the copy". Huh? Now we're talking about a method of an object (not a class) right? And under exactly what circumstance will "$this operate on a copy" (of the current object?)? Maybe this is an important note, but I for one can't decode what it's attempting to tell at all. ---- Server IP: 208.69.120.35 Probable Submitter: 68.7.44.17 ---- Manual Page -- http://www.php.net/manual/en/language.references.whatdo.php Edit -- https://master.php.net/note/edit/92642 Del: integrated -- https://master.php.net/note/delete/92642/integrated Del: useless -- https://master.php.net/note/delete/92642/useless Del: bad code -- https://master.php.net/note/delete/92642/bad+code Del: spam -- https://master.php.net/note/delete/92642/spam Del: non-english -- https://master.php.net/note/delete/92642/non-english Del: in docs -- https://master.php.net/note/delete/92642/in+docs Del: other reasons-- https://master.php.net/note/delete/92642 Reject -- https://master.php.net/note/reject/92642 Search -- https://master.php.net/manage/user-notes.php