public function &get($name, $ignore_error = false)
    {
        if (!array_key_exists($name, $this->_storage)) {
            if (!$ignore_error) {
                trigger_error(
                    "Attempted to retrieve non-existent variable $name",
                    E_USER_ERROR
                );
            }
            $var = null; // so we can return by reference
            return $var;
        }
        return $this->_storage[$name];
    }