> Duplicating an array in memory every time it is passed to or from a function would be awful.
This might be because I originally learned PHP about 16 years ago, but I could swear this used to be the case. There's definitely a reason PHP has the reputation it has, although many of those glaring issues have since been fixed.
I started with PHP3 and also didn't know or care about that for a long time. Then Doctrine with its hydrators and PHP daemons became a thing in the workplace and all of sudden you have to be a bit more careful with data size and memory management.
This might be because I originally learned PHP about 16 years ago, but I could swear this used to be the case. There's definitely a reason PHP has the reputation it has, although many of those glaring issues have since been fixed.