Modifications to $return at the end of the call() method

I have a questions about how NuSOAP treats the $return value of the call() 
method if it is an array.

Right now (in CVS 1.82) we have this:

if(is_array($return)){
        // multiple 'out' parameters
        if(sizeof($return) > 1){
                return $return;
        }
        // single 'out' parameter
        return array_shift($return);
// nothing returned (ie, echoVoid)
} else {
        return "";
}

My question is about the appropriateness of calling array_shift on the $return 
variable in all cases where $return has only 1 element.

In the service I am using, I sometimes receive a <Status> element along with an 
attribute in the root element.  This results in a $return array with two 
elements, the first a string containing the attribute result, the second is an 
array called 'Status' with the <Status> data in it.

It seems possible though, in this service, that the root element attribute is 
sometimes not present and this is where I am seeing a problem.  In that case, 
the $return array (before it gets to the code I have pasted above) contains a 
single array called 'Status' with the <Status> data in it.  Just like the 
paragraph above except with no second array element containing the root element 
attribute, because it wasn't in the response.

Because of the array_shift, I am having to look for this Status information in 
two places.  

The first case results in an 'untouched' array that I can reference like:

$results['Status']['!code']

The second case puts the elements that I would have expected in a 'Status' 
array element in the root element, because of the array_shift call, and I have 
to look for it here:

$results['!code']

Is this the expected behavior?  And if so is there some rationale behind it?

If it is not expected, I have a proposed solution, which works for me, but I 
wanted to ask for comments.  Particularly, is this something that is going to 
screw up a lot of legacy code?

// array of return values
if(is_array($return)){
        // multiple 'out' parameters
        reset($return); /**** only added this line ****/
        if((sizeof($return) > 1) || is_array(current($return))){ /**** only 
changed this line ****/
                return $return;
        }                                       
        // single 'out' parameter
        return array_shift($return);
// nothing returned (ie, echoVoid)
} else {
        return "";
}

In my solution, it will only do the array_shift if that single element is not 
an array.  If it is an array it will return it and maintain the structure.

Thanks in advance for any help or comments and for reading my long message :)

-David Derr


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