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You want to return a value by reference, not by value. This allows you to avoid making a duplicate copy of a variable.
The syntax for returning a variable by reference is similar to passing it by reference. However, instead of placing an & before the parameter, place it before the name of the function:
function &wrap_html_tag($string, $tag = 'b') {
return "<$tag>$string</$tag>";
}Also, you must use the =& assignment operator instead of plain = when invoking the function:
$html =& wrap_html_tag($string);
Unlike passing values into functions, in which an argument is either passed by value or by reference, you can optionally choose not to assign a reference and just take the returned value. Just use = instead of =&, and PHP assigns the value instead of the reference.
Recipe 6.4 on passing values by reference.
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| 6.6. Creating Functions That Take a Variable Number of Arguments |  | 6.8. Returning More Than One Value |
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