What is ‘&’ meaning in this php code

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i using word press, and i try to learn it,
but is see the code which i didn’t understand 

$post = &get_post($id);

i see ‘&’ before the get_post,
what is ‘&’ meaning?

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thank

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3 comments

  1. Here you’re getting a reference to the result of get_post($id).

    In particular you’re using the “returning by reference” technique.

    Returning References :

    Returning by reference is useful when you want to use a function to find to which variable a reference should be bound.

    The same syntax can be used with functions that return references, and with the new operator (since PHP 4.0.4 and before PHP 5.0.0):

      <?php
  $foo =& find_var($bar);
  ?>

    Since PHP 5, new returns a reference automatically, so using =& in this context is deprecated and produces an E_STRICT message.

    So if you’re using >= PHP 5 it’s not a really great idea to use this notation.

    Resources :

  3. Now you already know that is for return by reference, next things is the effect of that.
    The effect will be this:
    Whenever you change $post variable’s value, you are actually changing the get_post($id) content. get_post() return object having all the info about that post in database.