Question

Is it possible to return multiple items from a function – and assign them to several variables in a single statement – like can be done in some languages (e.g. Python) ?

For example, can I have something like this:

a, b, c,d = foo();

Answer 1

A function can not return multiple values, but similar results can be obtained by returning an array.

<?php
function small_numbers()
{
    return array (0, 1, 2);
}
list ($zero, $one, $two) = small_numbers();
?>

See http://php.net/manual/en/functions.returning-values.php