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https://github.com/sigmasternchen/php-doc-en
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See also: variable variables and function_exists git-svn-id: https://svn.php.net/repository/phpdoc/en/trunk@73334 c90b9560-bf6c-de11-be94-00142212c4b1
396 lines
10 KiB
XML
396 lines
10 KiB
XML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?>
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<!-- $Revision: 1.26 $ -->
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<chapter id="functions">
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<title>Functions</title>
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<sect1 id="functions.user-defined">
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<title>User-defined functions</title>
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<para>
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A function may be defined using syntax such as the following:
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<informalexample>
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<programlisting role="php">
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<![CDATA[
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function foo ($arg_1, $arg_2, ..., $arg_n)
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{
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echo "Example function.\n";
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return $retval;
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}
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]]>
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</programlisting>
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</informalexample>
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</para>
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<!--
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status of func(const $param) ?
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zend doesn't care at all whether or not you specify it.
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I've never seen it before... what's its use? (or was...)
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-->
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<simpara>
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Any valid PHP code may appear inside a function, even other
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functions and <link linkend="keyword.class">class</link>
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definitions.
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</simpara>
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<simpara>
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In PHP 3, functions must be defined before they are referenced. No
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such requirement exists in PHP 4.
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</simpara>
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<simpara>
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PHP does not support function overloading, nor is it possible to
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undefine or redefine previously-declared functions.
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</simpara>
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<simpara>
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PHP 3 does not support variable numbers of arguments to functions,
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although default arguments are supported (see <link
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linkend="functions.arguments.default">Default argument
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values</link> for more information). PHP 4 supports both: see <link
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linkend="functions.variable-arg-list">Variable-length argument
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lists</link> and the function references for
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<function>func_num_args</function>,
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<function>func_get_arg</function>, and
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<function>func_get_args</function> for more information.
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</simpara>
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</sect1>
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<sect1 id="functions.arguments">
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<title>Function arguments</title>
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<simpara>
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Information may be passed to functions via the argument list,
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which is a comma-delimited list of variables and/or constants.
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</simpara>
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<para>
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PHP supports passing arguments by value (the default), <link
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linkend="functions.arguments.by-reference">passing by
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reference</link>, and <link
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linkend="functions.arguments.default">default argument
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values</link>. Variable-length argument lists are supported only
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in PHP 4 and later; see <link
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linkend="functions.variable-arg-list">Variable-length argument
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lists</link> and the function references for
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<function>func_num_args</function>,
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<function>func_get_arg</function>, and
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<function>func_get_args</function> for more information. A
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similar effect can be achieved in PHP 3 by passing an array of
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arguments to a function:
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<informalexample>
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<programlisting role="php">
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<![CDATA[
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function takes_array($input)
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{
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echo "$input[0] + $input[1] = ", $input[0]+$input[1];
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}
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]]>
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</programlisting>
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</informalexample>
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</para>
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<sect2 id="functions.arguments.by-reference">
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<title>Making arguments be passed by reference</title>
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<simpara>
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By default, function arguments are passed by value (so that if
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you change the value of the argument within the function, it does
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not get changed outside of the function). If you wish to allow a
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function to modify its arguments, you must pass them by
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reference.
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</simpara>
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<para>
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If you want an argument to a function to always be passed by
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reference, you can prepend an ampersand (&) to the argument
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name in the function definition:
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<informalexample>
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<programlisting role="php">
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<![CDATA[
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function add_some_extra(&$string)
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{
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$string .= 'and something extra.';
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}
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$str = 'This is a string, ';
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add_some_extra($str);
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echo $str; // outputs 'This is a string, and something extra.'
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]]>
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</programlisting>
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</informalexample>
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</para>
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</sect2>
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<sect2 id="functions.arguments.default">
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<title>Default argument values</title>
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<para>
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A function may define C++-style default values for scalar
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arguments as follows:
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<informalexample>
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<programlisting role="php">
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<![CDATA[
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function makecoffee ($type = "cappucino")
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{
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return "Making a cup of $type.\n";
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}
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echo makecoffee ();
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echo makecoffee ("espresso");
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]]>
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</programlisting>
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</informalexample>
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</para>
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<para>
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The output from the above snippet is:
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<screen>
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Making a cup of cappucino.
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Making a cup of espresso.
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</screen>
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</para>
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<simpara>
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The default value must be a constant expression, not (for
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example) a variable or class member.
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</simpara>
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<para>
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Note that when using default arguments, any defaults should be on
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the right side of any non-default arguments; otherwise, things
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will not work as expected. Consider the following code snippet:
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<informalexample>
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<programlisting role="php">
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<![CDATA[
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function makeyogurt ($type = "acidophilus", $flavour)
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{
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return "Making a bowl of $type $flavour.\n";
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}
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echo makeyogurt ("raspberry"); // won't work as expected
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]]>
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</programlisting>
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</informalexample>
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</para>
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<para>
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The output of the above example is:
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<screen>
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Warning: Missing argument 2 in call to makeyogurt() in
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/usr/local/etc/httpd/htdocs/php3test/functest.html on line 41
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Making a bowl of raspberry .
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</screen>
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</para>
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<para>
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Now, compare the above with this:
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<informalexample>
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<programlisting role="php">
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<![CDATA[
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function makeyogurt ($flavour, $type = "acidophilus")
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{
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return "Making a bowl of $type $flavour.\n";
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}
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echo makeyogurt ("raspberry"); // works as expected
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]]>
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</programlisting>
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</informalexample>
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</para>
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<para>
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The output of this example is:
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<screen>
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Making a bowl of acidophilus raspberry.
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</screen>
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</para>
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</sect2>
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<sect2 id="functions.variable-arg-list">
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<title>Variable-length argument lists</title>
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<simpara>
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PHP 4 has support for variable-length argument lists in
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user-defined functions. This is really quite easy, using the
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<function>func_num_args</function>,
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<function>func_get_arg</function>, and
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<function>func_get_args</function> functions.
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</simpara>
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<simpara>
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No special syntax is required, and argument lists may still be
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explicitly provided with function definitions and will behave as
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normal.
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</simpara>
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</sect2>
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</sect1>
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<sect1 id="functions.returning-values">
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<title>Returning values</title>
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<para>
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Values are returned by using the optional return statement. Any
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type may be returned, including lists and objects. This causes the
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function to end its execution immediately and pass control back to
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the line from which it was called. See <function>return</function>
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for more information.
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<informalexample>
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<programlisting role="php">
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<![CDATA[
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function square ($num)
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{
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return $num * $num;
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}
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echo square (4); // outputs '16'.
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]]>
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</programlisting>
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</informalexample>
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</para>
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<para>
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You can't return multiple values from a function, but similar
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results can be obtained by returning a list.
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<informalexample>
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<programlisting role="php">
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<![CDATA[
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function small_numbers()
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{
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return array (0, 1, 2);
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}
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list ($zero, $one, $two) = small_numbers();
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]]>
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</programlisting>
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</informalexample>
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</para>
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<para>
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To return a reference from a function, you have to use
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the reference operator & in both the function declaration and
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when assigning the returned value to a variable:
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<informalexample>
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<programlisting role="php">
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<![CDATA[
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function &returns_reference()
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{
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return $someref;
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}
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$newref =& returns_reference();
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]]>
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</programlisting>
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</informalexample>
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</para>
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<simpara>
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For more information on references, please check out <link
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linkend="language.references">References Explained</link>.
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</simpara>
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</sect1>
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<sect1 id="functions.old-syntax">
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<title><literal>old_function</literal></title>
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<simpara>
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The <literal>old_function</literal> statement allows you to
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declare a function using a syntax identical to PHP/FI2 (except you
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must replace 'function' with 'old_function'.
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</simpara>
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<simpara>
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This is a deprecated feature, and should only be used by the
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PHP/FI2->PHP 3 convertor.
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</simpara>
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<warning>
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<para>
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Functions declared as <literal>old_function</literal> cannot be
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called from PHP's internal code. Among other things, this means
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you can't use them in functions such as
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<function>usort</function>, <function>array_walk</function>, and
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<function>register_shutdown_function</function>. You can get
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around this limitation by writing a wrapper function (in normal
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PHP 3 form) to call the <literal>old_function</literal>.
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</para>
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</warning>
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</sect1>
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<sect1 id="functions.variable-functions">
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<title>Variable functions</title>
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<para>
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PHP supports the concept of variable functions. This means that if
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a variable name has parentheses appended to it, PHP will look for
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a function with the same name as whatever the variable evaluates
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to, and will attempt to execute it. Among other things, this can
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be used to implement callbacks, function tables, and so forth.
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</para>
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<para>
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Variable functions won't work with language constructs such
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as <function>echo</function>, <function>unset</function>,
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<function>isset</function>, <function>empty</function> and
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<function>include</function>. Although, the construct
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<function>print</function> is an exception and will work.
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This is one of the major differences between PHP functions and
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language constructs.
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</para>
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<para>
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<example>
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<title>Variable function example</title>
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<programlisting role="php">
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<![CDATA[
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<?php
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function foo()
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{
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echo "In foo()<br>\n";
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}
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function bar($arg = '')
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{
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echo "In bar(); argument was '$arg'.<br>\n";
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}
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$func = 'foo';
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$func();
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$func = 'bar';
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$func('test');
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?>
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]]>
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</programlisting>
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</example>
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</para>
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<para>
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See also <link linkend="language.variables.variable">
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variable variables</link> and <function>function_exists</function>.
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</para>
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</sect1>
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</chapter>
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<!-- Keep this comment at the end of the file
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Local variables:
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mode: sgml
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sgml-omittag:t
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sgml-shorttag:t
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sgml-minimize-attributes:nil
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sgml-always-quote-attributes:t
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sgml-indent-step:1
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sgml-indent-data:t
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indent-tabs-mode:nil
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sgml-parent-document:nil
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sgml-default-dtd-file:"../../manual.ced"
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sgml-exposed-tags:nil
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sgml-local-catalogs:nil
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sgml-local-ecat-files:nil
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End:
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vim600: syn=xml fen fdm=syntax fdl=2 si
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vim: et tw=78 syn=sgml
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vi: ts=1 sw=1
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-->
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