PHP syntax for dereferencing function result

Question

Background

In every other programming language I use on a regular basis, it is simple to operate on the return value of a function without declaring

Answer 1

After further research I believe the answer is no, a temporary variable like that is indeed the canonical way to deal with an array returned from a function.

Looks like this will change starting in PHP 5.4.

Also, this answer was originally for this version of the question:

How to avoid temporary variables in PHP when using an array returned from a function