Strict Standards: Only variables should be assigned by reference PHP 5.4

Question

I upgraded my PHP version to 5.4 (XAMPP 1.7.3 to 1.8.0). Now I see Strict Standards error, for myDBconnection:

Strict Standards: Only variables should be assigned by reference in C:\xampp\htdocs\alous\include\dbconn.php on line 4

dbconn.php:

<?php
    defined('_VALID') or die('Restricted Access!');

    $conn = &ADONewConnection($config['db_type']); // <--- This Line 4

    if ( !$conn->Connect($config['db_host'],
                         $config['db_user'],
                         $config['db_pass'],
                         $config['db_name'])) {

        echo 'Could not connect to MySQL! Please check your database settings!';
        die();
    }
    $conn->execute("SET NAMES 'utf8'");
?>

Note: I don't need to disable Strict Standards in php.ini with this method error_reporting = E_ALL & ~E_NOTICE & ~E_STRICT! I want to fix my PHP code.

Does the warning disappear if you modify line 4 to `$conn = ADONewConnection($config['db_type']);` — Ozair Kafray, Aug 02 '12 at 12:59

Ozair Kafray · Accepted Answer · 2020-04-14T18:31:56.803

81

You should remove the & (ampersand) symbol, so that line 4 will look like this:

$conn = ADONewConnection($config['db_type']);

This is because ADONewConnection already returns an object by reference. As per documentation, assigning the result of a reference to object by reference results in an E_DEPRECATED message as of PHP 5.3.0

edited Apr 14 '20 at 18:31

answered Aug 02 '12 at 13:02

Ozair Kafray

13,351
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6

He's not using `new` though. – sam Oct 22 '13 at 21:16
14

Yes, `&` should be removed in this instance, but not for the reason give (as @sam suggests). It's simply that the result of the assignment is not a _variable_, which results in an E_STRICT message, not an E_DEPRECATED warning, which is what happens with the `new` operator. In fact, using `=&` could actually be valid if the `ADONewConnection()` _function_ is set to [return a reference](http://www.php.net/manual/en/language.references.return.php). – MrWhite Apr 29 '14 at 14:17
Can you add the reason why it should be removed (by [editing your answer](https://stackoverflow.com/posts/11778004/edit) - not here in comments)? – Peter Mortensen Apr 03 '20 at 16:24

VettelS · Answer 2 · 2014-05-12T20:18:34.437

10

It's because you're trying to assign an object by reference. Remove the ampersand and your script should work as intended.

edited May 12 '14 at 20:18

answered Aug 02 '12 at 13:23

VettelS

1,204
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Strict Standards: Only variables should be assigned by reference PHP 5.4

dbconn.php:

2 Answers2

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