When you define a function or user event, you specify its arguments, their datatypes, and how they are passed.
There are three ways to pass an argument:
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By value
Is the default
PowerBuilder passes a copy of a by-value argument. Any changes affect the copy, and the original value is unaffected.
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By reference
Tells PowerBuilder to pass a pointer to the passed variable
The function script can change the value of the variable because the argument points back to the original variable. An argument passed by reference must be a variable, not a literal or constant, so that it can be changed.
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Read-only
Passes the argument by value without making a copy of the data
Read-only provides a performance advantage for some datatypes because it does not create a copy of the data, as with by value. Datatypes for which read-only provides a performance advantage are String, Blob, Date, Time, and DateTime.
For other datatypes, read-only provides documentation for other developers by indicating something about the purpose of the argument.
Matching argument types when overriding functions
If you define a function in a descendant that overrides an ancestor function, the function signatures must match in every way: the function name, return value, argument datatypes, and argument passing methods must be the same.
For example, this function declaration has two long arguments passed by value and one passed by reference:
uf_calc(long a_1, long a_2, ref long a_3) & returns integer
If the overriding function does not match, then when you call the function, PowerBuilder calculates which function matches more closely and calls that one, which might give unexpected results.
