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What does the PHP syntax $var1->$var2 mean?
Reference - What does this symbol mean in PHP?
I'm looking at a PHP framework's code, and now and then the symbols "->" appear... for example:
$controller->permissionCheck($ret);
What does "->" stand for and what is used for?
In your example, $controller is a PHP object created somewhere, and permissionCheck is a function defined in that object that is being called with the variable $ret being passed to it. Check this: Reference - What does this symbol mean in PHP?.
It's used to address a function or property of a class. In this case a function of the controller class seems to be called.
Operator -> is for access to the non-static members of $controller object. In your case, the member is the function permissionCheck.