Question

The function signature on PHP.net for array_replace() says that the arrays will be passed in by reference. What would be the reason(s)/benefit(s) to doing it this way rather than by value since to get the intended result you must return the finished array to a variable. Just to be clear, I am able to reproduce the results in the manual, so this is not a question on how to use this function.

Here is the function signature and an example, both from php.net.

Source: https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.array-replace.php

Function signature:

array array_replace ( array &$array , array &$array1 [, array &$... ] )

Example code:

$base = array("orange", "banana", "apple", "raspberry");
$replacements = array(0 => "pineapple", 4 => "cherry");
$replacements2 = array(0 => "grape");

$basket = array_replace($base, $replacements, $replacements2);
print_r($basket);

The above example will output:

Array
(
    [0] => grape
    [1] => banana
    [2] => apple
    [3] => raspberry
    [4] => cherry
)

Answer 1

it was a documentation bug, and has now been fixed.

https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=62383