PHP expects T_PAAMAYIM_NEKUDOTAYIM?

Question

Does anyone have a T_PAAMAYIM_NEKUDOTAYIM?

Answer 1

It’s the double colon operator :: (see list of parser tokens).

Answer 2

Google works wonders.

It's Hebrew for "double colon".

Answer 3

It’s a name for the :: operator in PHP. It literally means "double colon". For some reason they named it in Hebrew. Check your code syntax, and put a :: where appropriate :-)

Answer 4

From Wikipedia:

In PHP, the scope resolution operator is also called Paamayim Nekudotayim (Hebrew: פעמיים נקודתיים‎), which means “double colon” in Hebrew.

The name "Paamayim Nekudotayim" was introduced in the Israeli-developed Zend Engine 0.5 used in PHP 3. Although it has been confusing to many developers who do not speak Hebrew, it is still being used in PHP 5, as in this sample error message:

$ php -r :: Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_PAAMAYIM_NEKUDOTAYIM

As of PHP 5.4, error messages concerning the scope resolution operator still include this name, but have clarified its meaning somewhat:

$ php -r :: Parse error: syntax error, unexpected '::' (T_PAAMAYIM_NEKUDOTAYIM)

From the official PHP documentation:

The Scope Resolution Operator (also called Paamayim Nekudotayim) or in simpler terms, the double colon, is a token that allows access to static, constant, and overridden properties or methods of a class.

When referencing these items from outside the class definition, use the name of the class.

As of PHP 5.3.0, it's possible to reference the class using a variable. The variable's value can not be a keyword (e.g. self, parent and static).

Paamayim Nekudotayim would, at first, seem like a strange choice for naming a double-colon. However, while writing the Zend Engine 0.5 (which powers PHP 3), that's what the Zend team decided to call it. It actually does mean double-colon - in Hebrew!

Answer 5

This is also coming when you apply a constant in PHP to the empty() function:

if (!empty(SOME_CONSTANT)) {

}

That was my case. I solved it by using this:

$string = SOME_CONSTANT;
if (!empty($string)) {

}

Answer 6

For me this happened within a class function.

In PHP 5.3 and above $this::$defaults worked fine; when I swapped the code into a server that for whatever reason had a lower version number it threw this error.

The solution, in my case, was to use the keyword self instead of $this:

self::$defaults works just fine.

Answer 7

This can happen on foreachs when using:

foreach( $array as $key = $value )

instead of

foreach( $array as $key => $value )

Answer 8

As stated here, you generally need 5.3. However, the way I broke all pages was by removing this line from our .htaccess file.

# Use PHP 5.3
AddHandler application/x-httpd-php53 .php

Perhaps this is of use to somehow.