Deprecate return by reference from never ?

From: Date: Wed, 09 Jul 2025 00:47:15 +0000
Subject: Deprecate return by reference from never ?
Groups: php.internals 
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L.S.,

I just noticed something which seems odd to me: PHP 8.1 deprecated declaring a function to return by reference when the return type is void:

function &foo() : void {} results in:
"Deprecated: foo(): Returning by reference from a void function is deprecated"

However, declaring a function to return by reference when the return type is "never" does not yield either an error or a deprecation notice: https://3v4l.org/DWs7t

I might well be missing something, but this feels a bit strange and inconsistent to me.

Should this be fixed by also deprecating return by reference for "never" functions ?

Smile,
Juliette

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