As obvious as it may seem, it might still be useful to point out that return called without any value returns null.
<?php
function test() {
return;
}
print gettype(test()) . "\n";
print (test()?'true':'false') . "\n";
print (!test()?'true':'false') . "\n";
print (test() === false?'true':'false') . "\n";
?>
This returns:
NULL
false
true
false
return
Se chamada em uma função, a instrução return() termina imediatamente a execução da função atual e retorna seu argumento como o valor da função. return() também termina a execução de uma instrução eval() ou de um script.
Se chamada no escopo global, a execução do script atual será terminada. Se o arquivo do script atual foi incluído com include() ou require(), então a execução é devolvida para o arquivo chamador. Especificamente para arquivos de script incluídos com include(), o valor fornecido para return() será devolvido como o valor da chamada include(). Se return() for chamado do arquivo de script principal, então o programa pára. Se o arquivo de script atual é o configurado em auto_prepend_file ou auto_append_file do php.ini, então a execução desses scripts é finalizada.
Para maiores informações, veja Retornando Valores.
Nota: Note que return() é um construtor de linguagem e não uma função, e parênteses em volta do argumento não é requerido. è comum deixa-los, e você atualmente deve faze-lo, já que o PHP tem menos trabalho para fazer neste caso.
Nota: Você jamais deve usar parênteses em torno da sua variável retornada ao retornar por referência, já que isto não irá funcionar. Você pode retornar apenas variáveis por referência, não o resultado de um comando. Se você usar return ($a); então você não esta retornando uma variável, mas o resultado da expressão ($a) (o qual é, claro, o valor de $a).
return
07-Oct-2008 09:26
15-Aug-2008 01:40
Response to stoic's message below...
I believe the way you've explained this for people may be a bit confusing, and your verbiage is incorrect. Your script below is technically calling return from a global scope, but as it says right after that in the description above... "If the current script file was include()ed or require()ed, then control is passed back to the calling file". You are in a included file. Just making sure that is clear.
Now, the way php works is before it executes actual code it does what you call "processing" is really just a syntax check. It does this every time per-file that is included before executing that file. This is a GOOD feature, as it makes sure not to run any part of non-functional code. What your example might have also said... is that in doing this syntax check it does not execute code, merely runs through your file (or include) checking for syntax errors before execution. To show that, you should put the echo "b"; and echo "a"; at the start of each file. This will show that "b" is echoed once, and then "a" is echoed only once, because the first time it syntax checked a.php, it was ok. But the second time the syntax check failed and thus it was not executed again and terminated execution of the application due to a syntax error.
Just something to help clarify what you have stated in your comments.
06-Jun-2008 06:21
Just to clear things up, if using return on a global scope it will end EXECUTION but NOT PROCESSING.
for example:
file a.php
<?php
if(defined("A")) return;
define("A", true);
echo "Hello";
?>
file b.php
<?php
include("a.php");
include("a.php");
?>
will output "Hello" only once.
but if file a.php is
<?php
if(defined("A")) return;
define("A", true);
function foo(){
}
?>
running file b.php will produce error:
Fatal Error: Cannot redeclare foo()...
02-Dec-2007 02:06
direct true 0.59850406646729
direct false 0.62642693519592
indirect true 0.75077891349792
indirect false 0.73496103286743
It is generally more true, because indirect method implies creating additional variable and assigning a value to it.
But, you know, "results may vary".
12-Oct-2007 01:56
I was wondering what was quicker:
- return a boolean as soon I know it's value ('direct') or
- save the boolean in a variable and return it at the function's end.
<?php
$times = 50000;
function return_direct ($boolean)
{
if ($boolean == true)
{
return true;
}
return false;
}
function return_indirect ($boolean)
{
$return = false;
if ($boolean == true)
{
$return = true;
}
return $return;
}
/* Direct, return true */
$time_start = microtime(true);
for ($i = 1; $i <= $times; $i++)
{
return_direct(true);
}
$time_end = microtime(true);
$time_direct_true = $time_end - $time_start;
/* Direct, return false */
$time_start = microtime(true);
for ($i = 1; $i <= $times; $i++)
{
return_direct(false);
}
$time_end = microtime(true);
$time_direct_false = $time_end - $time_start;
/* Indirect, return true */
$time_start = microtime(true);
for ($i = 1; $i <= $times; $i++)
{
return_indirect(true);
}
$time_end = microtime(true);
$time_indirect_true = $time_end - $time_start;
/* Direct, return false */
$time_start = microtime(true);
for ($i = 1; $i <= $times; $i++)
{
return_indirect(false);
}
$time_end = microtime(true);
$time_indirect_false = $time_end - $time_start;
echo "<pre>";
echo "direct true\t" . $time_direct_true;
echo "\ndirect false\t" . $time_direct_false;
echo "\nindirect true\t" . $time_indirect_true;
echo "\nindirect false\t" . $time_indirect_false;
echo "<pre>";
?>
Representative results:
direct true 0.163973093033
direct false 0.1270840168
indirect true 0.0733940601349
indirect false 0.0742440223694
Conclusion: saving the result in a variable appears to be faster. (Please note that my test functions are very simple, maybe it's slower on longer functions)
24-Jul-2007 06:13
regardez this code:
print pewt( "hello!" );
function pewt( $arg )
{
include( "some_code.inc" );
}
some_code.inc:
return strtoupper( $arg );
.. after much hair pulling, discovered why nothing was being returned by the "some_code.inc" code in the function .. the return simply returns the result TO the function (giving the include function a value), not to the CALLING (print pewt). This works:
print pewt( "hello!" );
function pewt( $arg )
{
return include( "some_code.inc" );
}
So, RETURN works relative to block it is executed within.
18-Dec-2005 12:28
for those of you who think that using return in a script is the same as using exit note that: using return just exits the execution of the current script, exit the whole execution.
look at that example:
a.php
<?php
include("b.php");
echo "a";
?>
b.php
<?php
echo "b";
return;
?>
(executing a.php:) will echo "ba".
whereas (b.php modified):
a.php
<?php
include("b.php");
echo "a";
?>
b.php
<?php
echo "b";
exit;
?>
(executing a.php:) will echo "b".
