Consistently make all form callbacks take $element by reference

Created on 28 April 2012, about 13 years ago

Updated 26 June 2023, almost 2 years ago

Some form callbacks return a copy of $element, some others alter &$element by reference.

Change all Form API callbacks to take $element by reference:

D7:

function form_process_radios($element) {
  ...
    $element['foo'] = 'bar';
  ...
  return $element;
}

D8:

function form_process_radios(&$element) {
  ...
    $element['foo'] = 'bar';
  ...
}

If form elements will ever be objects, they will behave as if they were passed by reference, too. So this is a compatible step into that direction.
Render API should ideally be changed to follow this consistency, since Form API elements usually interact deeply with Render API.

📌 Task

Status

Postponed: needs info

Version

9.5

Component

Form →

Last updated 1 day ago

Created by

🇩🇪Germany sun Karlsruhe

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API change
Changes an existing API or subsystem. Not backportable to earlier major versions, unless absolutely required to fix a critical bug.

API clean-up
Refactors an existing API or subsystem for consistency, performance, modularization, flexibility, third-party integration, etc. May imply an API change. Frequently used during the Code Slush phase of the release cycle.

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Comment almost 2 years ago →
🇺🇸United States smustgrave
Currently going through the end of the queue to see what could still be relevant for D10.

Wondering if this is still a valid task?
Status changed to Closed: outdated 12 days ago12:34pm 5 May 2025
Comment 12 days ago →
🇳🇿New Zealand quietone
There has been no work on this task for 13 years. It is likely that it is no longer needed or has been implemented. Therefor, closing.

If there is work to do here, then either re-open the issue and add a comment or open a new issue and reference this one.

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