php.net |  support |  documentation |  report a bug |  advanced search |  search howto |  statistics |  random bug |  login
Bug #68586 Variable losing memory address when used by function that passes by reference
Submitted: 2014-12-10 18:21 UTC Modified: 2014-12-10 18:41 UTC
From: hmdiana at gmail dot com Assigned:
Status: Not a bug Package: Variables related
PHP Version: 5.4.35 OS: All
Private report: No CVE-ID: None
Welcome back! If you're the original bug submitter, here's where you can edit the bug or add additional notes.
If you forgot your password, you can retrieve your password here.
Password:
Status:
Package:
Bug Type:
Summary:
From: hmdiana at gmail dot com
New email:
PHP Version: OS:

 

 [2014-12-10 18:21 UTC] hmdiana at gmail dot com
Description:
------------
When inside a foreach and using a function that should get the variable passed by reference, that function changes the memory address of that variable so,instead of working with the original variable, it works with a copy of it and the original variable never get the changes we made.

Test script:
---------------
$things = array(
	909 => array(
		'name' => 'Colors', 
		'children' => array(
			0 => array('name' => 'Yellow', 'id' => 855), 
			1 => array('name' => 'Blue', 'id' => 842), 
			2 => array('name' => 'Brown', 'id' => 843), 
			3 => array('name' => 'Red', 'id' => 856)
		)
	)
);

foreach ($things as $thing) {
    if (isset($thing['children'])) {
        array_multisort($thing['children']);
    }
}

Expected result:
----------------
The array 'children' on alphabetical order, ordered by 'name':
array (size=10)
  909 => 
    array (size=4)
      'name' => string 'Colors' (length=9)
      'children' => 
        array (size=14)
          0 => 
            array (size=2)
              'name' => string 'Blue' (length=9)
              'id' => string '842' (length=3)
          1 => 
            array (size=2)
              'name' => string 'Brown' (length=8)
              'id' => string '843' (length=3)
          2 => 
            array (size=2)
              'name' => string 'Red' (length=5)
              'id' => string '856' (length=3)
          3 => 
            array (size=2)
              'name' => string 'Yellow' (length=5)
              'id' => string '855' (length=3)

Actual result:
--------------
The initial variable, as if nothing has changed:

array (size=10)
  909 => 
    array (size=4)
      'name' => string 'Colors' (length=9)
      'children' => 
        array (size=14)
          0 => 
            array (size=2)
              'name' => string 'Yellow' (length=9)
              'id' => string '855' (length=3)
          1 => 
            array (size=2)
              'name' => string 'Blue' (length=8)
              'id' => string '842' (length=3)
          2 => 
            array (size=2)
              'name' => string 'Brown' (length=5)
              'id' => string '843' (length=3)
          3 => 
            array (size=2)
              'name' => string 'Red' (length=5)
              'id' => string '856' (length=3)

Patches

Pull Requests

History

AllCommentsChangesGit/SVN commitsRelated reports
 [2014-12-10 18:26 UTC] hmdiana at gmail dot com
-Package: Scripting Engine problem +Package: Variables related
 [2014-12-10 18:26 UTC] hmdiana at gmail dot com
I selected wrong package for the bug... changed that
 [2014-12-10 18:41 UTC] requinix@php.net
-Status: Open +Status: Not a bug
 [2014-12-10 18:41 UTC] requinix@php.net
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

http://php.net/manual/en/control-structures.foreach.php
"In order to be able to directly modify array elements within the loop precede $value with &. In that case the value will be assigned by reference."
 
PHP Copyright © 2001-2024 The PHP Group
All rights reserved.
Last updated: Sun Dec 22 11:01:30 2024 UTC