On Sun, Jun 30, 2024, at 17:45, Tim Düsterhus wrote:
> Hi
>
> On 6/30/24 17:31, Rob Landers wrote:
> > - list() -- kinda
>
> That is not a function.
>
> > - array_shift(), array_pop(), etc.
>
> These do not return by out-parameter. These return the value and modify
> the array by reference to remove the returned value.
>
> > - preg_match*()
>
> These only return supplementary data by an out-parameter. The main
> result ("does the RFC match") is returned regularly.
>
> > - all the sorts
> >
> These do not return anything, they modify the array in-place, which is
> something different than returning something.
>
> Best regards
> Tim Düsterhus
>
We can argue the semantics of input/output, but the point still stands that return by reference is
still more common than structured array, and even then, those are usually much bigger things.
— Rob