Pass variable number of params without call_user_func_array() - php

Question

I have a code problem which stems from the fact that I am using certain libraries of code I cannot change.
I use the following code to pass execution of any undefined methods to another class, and it works fine but it seems like a waste doubling up.
Any suggestions?
Basically I want to know if it's possible to pass an unknown number of parameters to a method (without using call_user_func_array(), just in case they need to be passed by reference). I am not asking how to use func_get_args(), rather the reverse.
Or should I just allow for a few more arguments in the first logic path (the list() code)?
class Foo {
__construct() {
$this->external = new ClassThatIHaveNoControlOver();
}
function bar($name) {
return 'Hi '.$name;
}
function __call($method, $arguments) {
if (count($arguments) < 3) {
// call_user_func_array won't pass by reference, as required by
// ClassThatIHaveNoControlOver->foobar(), so calling the function
// directly for up to 2 arguments, as I know that foobar() will only
// take 2 arguments
list($first, $second) = $arguments + Array(null, null);
return $this->external->$method($first, $second);
} else {
return call_user_func_array(array($this->external, $method), $arguments);
}
}
}
$foo = new Foo();
$firstName = 'Bob';
$lastName = 'Brown';
echo $foo->bar($firstName); // returns Hi Bob as expected
echo $foo->foobar($firstName, $lastName); // returns whatever
// ClassThatIHaveNoControlOver()->foobar() is meant to return
EDIT
Just to clarify, I know I can use this method to rejig the parameters as references, but that would mean passing everything as a reference, even if the method didn't require it - something I was trying to avoid, but seems unlikely at the moment.

Answer 1

As commented in the thread question post's comments this is an example and not necessarily (likely) best practice.
//Some vars
$foo = "shoe";
$bar = "bucket";
//Array of references
$arr = Array(&$foo, &$bar);
//Show that changing variable value affects array content
$foo = "water";
echo $arr[0];
//Sample function
function fooBar($a)
{
$a[0] = "fire";
}
//Call sample function
call_user_func("fooBar",$arr);
//Show that function changes both array contents and variable value by reference
echo $arr[0];
echo $foo;
Expanding a bit on the discussion, again not the most industry standard approach but it'll do the job.
function pushRefOnArray(&$arr, &$var, $key = false)
{
if(isset($key))
$arr[$key] = &$var;
else
$arr[] = &$var;
}
Essentially you can dynamically build your array and call pushRefToArray() any time you need to pass an item to be passed as reference rather than by value.

Answer 2

You could use something like this:
public function __call($method, $params = array()) {
switch (count($params)) {
case 0:
return $this->external->{$method}();
case 1:
return $this->external->{$method}($params[0]);
case 2:
return $this->external->{$method}($params[0], $params[1]);
case 3:
return $this->external->{$method}($params[0], $params[1], $params[2]);
default:
return call_user_func_array(array(&this->external, $method), $params);
}
}