>> 3. The weak point of this proposal is the by reference handling for sort et
>> al. Counterpoint: if you pass a variable to preg_match, then matches gets
>> converted from anything to array, so i believe by reference casting should
>> change the original value (https://3v4l.org/XUJ5m <https://3v4l.org/XUJ5m>).
>> This is weird, but consistent.
>
> The proposal states that “array functions that operate on an array by
> reference such as sort or shuffle will not work on an object implementing
> __toArray() under this proposal”, and IMO that is consistent with other
> magical casting behaviors and I wouldn’t expect a class implementing
> __toArray() to be able to be written or referenced like a traditional array.
>
> Passing an object with toString by reference will change the original
> variable: https://3v4l.org/77lov <https://3v4l.org/77lov>
Ah, I think I see what you mean. PHP’s making a copy of the string variable
once it’s cast, so it’s no longer referencing the original object that
implemented the __toString() method. I imagined the __toArray() would function
the same. Once the cast is called on the object, it’s a new array variable and
can be acted upon as such. What I was trying to get at was that the magic
method does not give the ability to write to the original object. If that’s not
clear then I need to update the RFC.
