What is the significance of the "return" statement placement in a PHP function that returns an array?

Placing the "return" statement within a PHP function that returns an array is significant because it determines what value the function will return. If the "return" statement is placed outside of the function or not included at all, the function will not return the desired array. Therefore, it is crucial to place the "return" statement at the end of the function, after all necessary processing has been done to construct the array.

// Incorrect placement of return statement
function createArray() {
    $array = [1, 2, 3];
    return; // Incorrect placement of return statement
}

// Correct placement of return statement
function createArray() {
    $array = [1, 2, 3];
    return $array; // Correct placement of return statement
}