You can pass a VARIABLE by reference to a function by taking the reference of the original variable, and passing that reference as the calling argument. Here is a PHP SCRIPT on how to use pass variables by references:
<?php
function SWAP($a, $b) {
$t = $a;
$a = $b;
$b = $t;
}
$x = "PHP";
$y = "JSP";
print("Before swapping: $x, $y\n");
swap(&AMP;$x, &$y);
print("After swapping: $x, $y\n");
?>
This script will print:
Before swapping: PHP, JSP
After swapping: JSP, PHP
As you can see, the function modified the original variable.
Note that call-time pass-by-reference has been deprecated. You need to DEFINE arguments as references.

You can pass a variable by reference to a function by taking the reference of the original variable, and passing that reference as the calling argument. Here is a PHP script on how to use pass variables by references:
<?php
function swap($a, $b) {
$t = $a;
$a = $b;
$b = $t;
}
$x = "PHP";
$y = "JSP";
print("Before swapping: $x, $y\n");
swap(&$x, &$y);
print("After swapping: $x, $y\n");
?>
This script will print:
Before swapping: PHP, JSP
After swapping: JSP, PHP
As you can see, the function modified the original variable.
Note that call-time pass-by-reference has been deprecated. You need to define arguments as references.