<?
Class ChildClass {
	var $value;
	
	function ChildClass($value){
		$this->value = $value;
	}
}

Class ParentClass {
	var $children;
	
	function ParentClass(){
		$this->children = array();
	}
	
	function AddChild($value){
		$child = &new ChildClass($value);
		array_push($this->children, &$child);
		return $child;
	}
}


$p1 = &new ParentClass();

$c1 = &$p1->AddChild('set in constructor');
$c1->value = 'set elsewhere';

echo "the reference to the object created in AddBand and stored in the parentclass' array is different to that returned by the AddBand function<br>";
echo $p1->children[0]->value."<br>";
echo $c1->value;

?>

"return" is returning a copy of the object created in parentclass->AddChild instead of a reference. "return &$object" is flagged as invalid by the php interpreter.

thanks a lot
olli holliday