What are the potential pitfalls of using references in PHP, especially when referencing objects?

When using references in PHP, especially when referencing objects, it is important to be cautious of unintended side effects. Modifying a referenced object can affect other variables that reference the same object, leading to unexpected behavior. To avoid this, consider cloning the object before assigning it to a reference variable, ensuring that each variable holds a separate instance of the object.

// Creating a new object
$originalObject = new stdClass();

// Cloning the object to avoid reference-related issues
$referenceObject = clone $originalObject;

// Modifying the cloned object without affecting the original
$referenceObject->property = 'value';

// Outputting the properties of both objects
var_dump($originalObject);
var_dump($referenceObject);