search
HomeBackend DevelopmentPHP TutorialWhat is the difference between assignment by value and assignment by reference in PHP?

Assignment by value: When assigning the value of an expression to a variable, the value of the entire original expression is assigned to the target variable. This means that, for example, changing the value of one variable while the value of one variable is assigned to another variable will not affect the other variable.

<?php 
$a=123; $a=123; 
$b=$a; $b=&$a; 
$a=321; $a=321; 
Echo”$a,$b”;//显示”321,123” Echo”$a,$b”;//显示”321,321” 
?>

Reference assignment: The new variable simply references the original variable. Changing the new variable will affect the original variable. Using reference assignment, simply add an & symbol in front of the variable to be assigned ( Source variable)
Type trick PHP does not require (or does not support) explicit type definitions in variable definitions; the variable type is determined based on the context in which the variable is used. That is, if you assign a string value to the variable var, var becomes a string. If you assign an integer value to var, it becomes an integer.
Type casting
The allowed castings are: (int), (integer) - converted to integer type (bool), (boolean) - converted to Boolean type (float), (double), (real) - Convert to floating point type (string) - Convert to string (array) - Convert to array (object) - Convert to object Settype() for type conversion
Function Settype()

<?php 
$foo = "5bar"; // string 
$bar = true; // boolean 
settype($foo, "integer"); // $foo 现在是 5 (integer) 
settype($bar, "string"); // $bar 现在是 "1" (string) 
?>

Variable scope The scope of a variable is the context in which it is defined (that is, its effective scope). Most PHP variables have only a single scope. This single scope span also includes files introduced by include and require.
Static variable Another important feature of variable scope is static variable (static variable). Static variables only exist in the local function scope, but their values ​​are not lost when program execution leaves this scope.
Array An array in PHP is actually an ordered graph. A graph is a type that maps values ​​to keys. This type is optimized in many ways, so it can be used as a real array, or a list (vector), a hash table (an implementation of a graph), a dictionary, a set, a stack, a queue, and many more possibilities. Since you can use another PHP array as a value, you can also simulate a tree easily.
Definition array() You can use the array() language structure to create a new array. It accepts a number of comma-separated key => value parameter pairs.
array( key => value , ... )
// key can be integer or string
// value can be any value

<?php // 现在删除其中的所有单元,但保持数组本身的结构 
// 创建一个简单的数组 foreach ($array as $i => $value) { 
$array = array(1, 2, 3, 4, 5); unset($array[$i]); 
print_r($array); } 
print_r($array); 
// 添加一个单元(注意新的键名是 5,而不是你可能以为的 0) 
$array[] = 6; 
print_r($array); // 重新索引: 
$array = array_values($array); 
$array[] = 7; 
print_r($array); 
?>

unset() function allows to cancel a The key name in the array. Be aware that the array will not be reindexed.

<?PHP 
$a = array( 1 => &#39;one&#39;, 2 => &#39;two&#39;, 3 => &#39;three&#39; ); 
unset( $a[2] ); 
/* 将产生一个数组,定义为 
$a = array( 1=>&#39;one&#39;, 3=>&#39;three&#39;); 
而不是 
$a = array( 1 => &#39;one&#39;, 2 => &#39;three&#39;); 
*/ 
$b = array_values($a); 
// Now $b is array(0 => &#39;one&#39;, 1 =>&#39;three&#39;) 
?>

The above is the detailed content of What is the difference between assignment by value and assignment by reference in PHP?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

Statement
The content of this article is voluntarily contributed by netizens, and the copyright belongs to the original author. This site does not assume corresponding legal responsibility. If you find any content suspected of plagiarism or infringement, please contact admin@php.cn
PHP Dependency Injection Container: A Quick StartPHP Dependency Injection Container: A Quick StartMay 13, 2025 am 12:11 AM

APHPDependencyInjectionContainerisatoolthatmanagesclassdependencies,enhancingcodemodularity,testability,andmaintainability.Itactsasacentralhubforcreatingandinjectingdependencies,thusreducingtightcouplingandeasingunittesting.

Dependency Injection vs. Service Locator in PHPDependency Injection vs. Service Locator in PHPMay 13, 2025 am 12:10 AM

Select DependencyInjection (DI) for large applications, ServiceLocator is suitable for small projects or prototypes. 1) DI improves the testability and modularity of the code through constructor injection. 2) ServiceLocator obtains services through center registration, which is convenient but may lead to an increase in code coupling.

PHP performance optimization strategies.PHP performance optimization strategies.May 13, 2025 am 12:06 AM

PHPapplicationscanbeoptimizedforspeedandefficiencyby:1)enablingopcacheinphp.ini,2)usingpreparedstatementswithPDOfordatabasequeries,3)replacingloopswitharray_filterandarray_mapfordataprocessing,4)configuringNginxasareverseproxy,5)implementingcachingwi

PHP Email Validation: Ensuring Emails Are Sent CorrectlyPHP Email Validation: Ensuring Emails Are Sent CorrectlyMay 13, 2025 am 12:06 AM

PHPemailvalidationinvolvesthreesteps:1)Formatvalidationusingregularexpressionstochecktheemailformat;2)DNSvalidationtoensurethedomainhasavalidMXrecord;3)SMTPvalidation,themostthoroughmethod,whichchecksifthemailboxexistsbyconnectingtotheSMTPserver.Impl

How to make PHP applications fasterHow to make PHP applications fasterMay 12, 2025 am 12:12 AM

TomakePHPapplicationsfaster,followthesesteps:1)UseOpcodeCachinglikeOPcachetostoreprecompiledscriptbytecode.2)MinimizeDatabaseQueriesbyusingquerycachingandefficientindexing.3)LeveragePHP7 Featuresforbettercodeefficiency.4)ImplementCachingStrategiessuc

PHP Performance Optimization Checklist: Improve Speed NowPHP Performance Optimization Checklist: Improve Speed NowMay 12, 2025 am 12:07 AM

ToimprovePHPapplicationspeed,followthesesteps:1)EnableopcodecachingwithAPCutoreducescriptexecutiontime.2)ImplementdatabasequerycachingusingPDOtominimizedatabasehits.3)UseHTTP/2tomultiplexrequestsandreduceconnectionoverhead.4)Limitsessionusagebyclosin

PHP Dependency Injection: Improve Code TestabilityPHP Dependency Injection: Improve Code TestabilityMay 12, 2025 am 12:03 AM

Dependency injection (DI) significantly improves the testability of PHP code by explicitly transitive dependencies. 1) DI decoupling classes and specific implementations make testing and maintenance more flexible. 2) Among the three types, the constructor injects explicit expression dependencies to keep the state consistent. 3) Use DI containers to manage complex dependencies to improve code quality and development efficiency.

PHP Performance Optimization: Database Query OptimizationPHP Performance Optimization: Database Query OptimizationMay 12, 2025 am 12:02 AM

DatabasequeryoptimizationinPHPinvolvesseveralstrategiestoenhanceperformance.1)Selectonlynecessarycolumnstoreducedatatransfer.2)Useindexingtospeedupdataretrieval.3)Implementquerycachingtostoreresultsoffrequentqueries.4)Utilizepreparedstatementsforeffi

See all articles

Hot AI Tools

Undresser.AI Undress

Undresser.AI Undress

AI-powered app for creating realistic nude photos

AI Clothes Remover

AI Clothes Remover

Online AI tool for removing clothes from photos.

Undress AI Tool

Undress AI Tool

Undress images for free

Clothoff.io

Clothoff.io

AI clothes remover

Video Face Swap

Video Face Swap

Swap faces in any video effortlessly with our completely free AI face swap tool!

Hot Article

Hot Tools

SecLists

SecLists

SecLists is the ultimate security tester's companion. It is a collection of various types of lists that are frequently used during security assessments, all in one place. SecLists helps make security testing more efficient and productive by conveniently providing all the lists a security tester might need. List types include usernames, passwords, URLs, fuzzing payloads, sensitive data patterns, web shells, and more. The tester can simply pull this repository onto a new test machine and he will have access to every type of list he needs.

SublimeText3 English version

SublimeText3 English version

Recommended: Win version, supports code prompts!

Safe Exam Browser

Safe Exam Browser

Safe Exam Browser is a secure browser environment for taking online exams securely. This software turns any computer into a secure workstation. It controls access to any utility and prevents students from using unauthorized resources.

Dreamweaver CS6

Dreamweaver CS6

Visual web development tools

Atom editor mac version download

Atom editor mac version download

The most popular open source editor