- var_dump: documentation ( source)
<?php
function assign(&$a, &$b, &$c) { static $i = 0; $a = 'a' . $i; $b = 'b' . $i; $c = 'c' . $i; $i++;}
$ar_e = array('d' => null);
assign($ar['a'], $direct, $ar_e['d']);
assign($ar['a'], $direct, $ar_e['d']);
var_dump($ar, $direct, $ar_e);