#33884 [Bgs]: "Only variable references should be returned by reference" if I return nothing
ID: 33884
Updated by: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Reported By: php-bug-33884 at ryandesign dot com
Status: Bogus
Bug Type: Unknown/Other Function
Operating System: N/A
PHP Version: 4.4.0
New Comment:
Hint: Try SEARCH to find the duplicate report..
Previous Comments:
[2005-07-29 21:46:22] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Thank you for wasting my time (again).
[2005-07-29 19:09:08] php-bug-33884 at ryandesign dot com
I realize you must be very busy and that form responses let
you handle bugs quicker, but I can't help but feel a little
put off by them. I spent time analyzing a situation and
writing it up in detail, only to have it shut down with no
discussion by form responses. In particular, beginning your
response with "Please do not submit the same bug more than
once" makes it sound like I did so on purpose. (Your first
response, which began "Thank you [...], but [...]" was
better in this regard.) And especially in the case of
duplicate bugs, it's essential that you let me know the
other bug number, so that I can check and see whether it is
truly the same bug. With the speed with which you must work
through new bugs, I imagine some would get incorrectly
classified; surely it's in your best interest to have us
double-check for you.
I'm also not sure what I think about your deleting comments
from this bug. You closed my bug as bogus, pasting in a form
response that it is not a bug. I wrote a detailed reply
further clarifying why I believe it is. You promptly deleted
your original response and my reply, to replace it with
another form response saying my bug is a duplicate, without
saying what of. Might not my clarification have been helpful
to the person who tries to solve the bug, whether or not it
is a duplicate? Since I was not able to find the bug of
which this one is a duplicate, might others not have the
same difficulty, and might they not possibly benefit from
having more-detailed information in this bug on which they
could search?
[2005-07-29 19:08:44] php-bug-33884 at ryandesign dot com
I'm sorry, I was not aware that I had submitted a duplicate. I
did search beforehand and was not able to find a similar bug.
Since you seem to have found one, could you please tell me its
bug number so I can have a look?
[2005-07-29 18:12:56] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Please do not submit the same bug more than once. An existing
bug report already describes this very problem. Even if you feel
that your issue is somewhat different, the resolution is likely
to be the same.
Thank you for your interest in PHP.
[2005-07-27 15:02:41] php-bug-33884 at ryandesign dot com
Description:
Hi. After upgrading from PHP 4.3.11 to 4.4.0 I get the
famous "Only variable references should be returned by
reference" notice in one of my projects. The function in
question returns by reference, but only needs to do this
sometimes. Other times, it returns nothing at all, because
the caller does not need a return value. In these latter
cases, PHP produces the notice as of 4.4.0.
This surprised me because it's perfectly fine to have a
normal return-by-copy function that does not return
anything. So why not a return-by-reference function?
I couldn't find any documentation that if your function
returns by reference, then you must always return something.
In my particular case I can rewrite the function so that it
always returns something, even when the caller has no use
for it. I just wasn't sure if the notice in this case was
intended, and if so, why.
If the behavior is intended, then the documentation should
reflect this.
Reproduce code:
---
error_reporting(E_ALL);
function &foo_by_reference_with_return() {
echo __FUNCTION__ . "\n";
return $GLOBALS['bar'];
}
function &foo_by_reference_without_return() {
echo __FUNCTION__ . "\n";
} // line 11
function foo_by_copy_with_return() {
echo __FUNCTION__ . "\n";
return $GLOBALS['bar'];
}
function foo_by_copy_without_return() {
echo __FUNCTION__ . "\n";
}
foo_by_reference_with_return();
foo_by_reference_without_return(); // causes notice in 4.4.0
foo_by_copy_with_return();
foo_by_copy_without_return();
Expected result:
foo_by_reference_with_return
foo_by_reference_without_return
foo_by_copy_with_return
foo_by_copy_without_return
Actual result:
--
foo_by_reference_with_return
foo_by_reference_without_return
Notice: Only variable references should be returned by
reference in references.php on line 11
foo_by_copy_with_return
foo_by_copy_without_return
#33884 [Bgs]: "Only variable references should be returned by reference" if I return nothing
ID: 33884
User updated by: php-bug-33884 at ryandesign dot com
Reported By: php-bug-33884 at ryandesign dot com
Status: Bogus
Bug Type: Unknown/Other Function
Operating System: N/A
PHP Version: 4.4.0
New Comment:
I'm sorry, I was not aware that I had submitted a duplicate. I
did search beforehand and was not able to find a similar bug.
Since you seem to have found one, could you please tell me its
bug number so I can have a look?
Previous Comments:
[2005-07-29 18:12:56] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Please do not submit the same bug more than once. An existing
bug report already describes this very problem. Even if you feel
that your issue is somewhat different, the resolution is likely
to be the same.
Thank you for your interest in PHP.
[2005-07-27 15:02:41] php-bug-33884 at ryandesign dot com
Description:
Hi. After upgrading from PHP 4.3.11 to 4.4.0 I get the
famous "Only variable references should be returned by
reference" notice in one of my projects. The function in
question returns by reference, but only needs to do this
sometimes. Other times, it returns nothing at all, because
the caller does not need a return value. In these latter
cases, PHP produces the notice as of 4.4.0.
This surprised me because it's perfectly fine to have a
normal return-by-copy function that does not return
anything. So why not a return-by-reference function?
I couldn't find any documentation that if your function
returns by reference, then you must always return something.
In my particular case I can rewrite the function so that it
always returns something, even when the caller has no use
for it. I just wasn't sure if the notice in this case was
intended, and if so, why.
If the behavior is intended, then the documentation should
reflect this.
Reproduce code:
---
error_reporting(E_ALL);
function &foo_by_reference_with_return() {
echo __FUNCTION__ . "\n";
return $GLOBALS['bar'];
}
function &foo_by_reference_without_return() {
echo __FUNCTION__ . "\n";
} // line 11
function foo_by_copy_with_return() {
echo __FUNCTION__ . "\n";
return $GLOBALS['bar'];
}
function foo_by_copy_without_return() {
echo __FUNCTION__ . "\n";
}
foo_by_reference_with_return();
foo_by_reference_without_return(); // causes notice in 4.4.0
foo_by_copy_with_return();
foo_by_copy_without_return();
Expected result:
foo_by_reference_with_return
foo_by_reference_without_return
foo_by_copy_with_return
foo_by_copy_without_return
Actual result:
--
foo_by_reference_with_return
foo_by_reference_without_return
Notice: Only variable references should be returned by
reference in references.php on line 11
foo_by_copy_with_return
foo_by_copy_without_return
--
Edit this bug report at http://bugs.php.net/?id=33884&edit=1
#33884 [Bgs]: "Only variable references should be returned by reference" if I return nothing
ID: 33884
User updated by: php-bug-33884 at ryandesign dot com
-Reported By: php-bugs-2005 at ryandesign dot com
+Reported By: php-bug-33884 at ryandesign dot com
Status: Bogus
Bug Type: Unknown/Other Function
Operating System: N/A
PHP Version: 4.4.0
New Comment:
Thank you for your response.
I already checked the documentation on functions returning
by reference and could not find any indication that such
functions must always return something. If this is the case,
then this should be documented. If it already is documented,
I would appreciate a direct link to the relevant page.
I have many years of experience in software development,
software testing and bug reporting, and did not think my bug
report had been filed improperly. If you have specific
suggestions for how I could make future bug reports more
useful to you, by all means please share them with me.
Truly, if my function never returned anything, then as you
say I would not need to declare the it as return-by-
reference. However, I do sometimes need to return a
reference. Therefore the function must be declared in this
way. Here is a more concrete example of what my function
does:
class foo {
function &get_or_set($bar, $baz = null) {
if ($baz) {
$GLOBALS['qux'][$bar] =& $baz;
} else {
return $GLOBALS['qux'][$bar];
}
}
}
In this particular case, I can avoid the error by modifying
the code so that the "else" part occurs unconditionally. I
just couldn't see any reason to require that a return-by-
reference function must return a value, when return-by-copy
functions are not restricted in this manner. If such a
reason exists, please enlighten me.
Previous Comments:
[2005-07-27 16:14:27] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Thank you for taking the time to write to us, but this is not
a bug. Please double-check the documentation available at
http://www.php.net/manual/ and the instructions on how to report
a bug at http://bugs.php.net/how-to-report.php
If you don\'t return anything you don\'t need
return-by-reference...
[2005-07-27 15:02:41] php-bug-33884 at ryandesign dot com
Description:
Hi. After upgrading from PHP 4.3.11 to 4.4.0 I get the
famous "Only variable references should be returned by
reference" notice in one of my projects. The function in
question returns by reference, but only needs to do this
sometimes. Other times, it returns nothing at all, because
the caller does not need a return value. In these latter
cases, PHP produces the notice as of 4.4.0.
This surprised me because it's perfectly fine to have a
normal return-by-copy function that does not return
anything. So why not a return-by-reference function?
I couldn't find any documentation that if your function
returns by reference, then you must always return something.
In my particular case I can rewrite the function so that it
always returns something, even when the caller has no use
for it. I just wasn't sure if the notice in this case was
intended, and if so, why.
If the behavior is intended, then the documentation should
reflect this.
Reproduce code:
---
error_reporting(E_ALL);
function &foo_by_reference_with_return() {
echo __FUNCTION__ . "\n";
return $GLOBALS['bar'];
}
function &foo_by_reference_without_return() {
echo __FUNCTION__ . "\n";
} // line 11
function foo_by_copy_with_return() {
echo __FUNCTION__ . "\n";
return $GLOBALS['bar'];
}
function foo_by_copy_without_return() {
echo __FUNCTION__ . "\n";
}
foo_by_reference_with_return();
foo_by_reference_without_return(); // causes notice in 4.4.0
foo_by_copy_with_return();
foo_by_copy_without_return();
Expected result:
foo_by_reference_with_return
foo_by_reference_without_return
foo_by_copy_with_return
foo_by_copy_without_return
Actual result:
--
foo_by_reference_with_return
foo_by_reference_without_return
Notice: Only variable references should be returned by
reference in references.php on line 11
foo_by_copy_with_return
foo_by_copy_without_return
--
Edit this bug report at http://bugs.php.net/?id=33884&edit=1
