[php] PHP expects T_PAAMAYIM_NEKUDOTAYIM?

Does anyone have a T_PAAMAYIM_NEKUDOTAYIM?

This just happened to me in a foreach loop. I had inadvertently typed ($array as $key as $value) and PHP objected to the first as.

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.

This just happened to me in a string assignment using double quotes. I was missing a closing curly on a POST variable...

"for {$_POST['txtName'] on $date";

should have been

"for {$_POST['txtName']} on $date";

I can't explain why. I mean, I see the error that would break the code but I don't see why it references a class error.

Edit: Unfortunately, as of PHP 8.0, the answer is not "No, not anymore". This RFC was not accepted as I hoped, proposing to change T_PAAMAYIM_NEKUDOTAYIM to T_DOUBLE_COLON; but it was declined.

Note: I keep this answer for historical purposes. Actually, because of the creation of the RFC and the votes ratio at some point, I created this answer. Also, I keep this for hoping it to be accepted in the near future.

From Wikipedia:

In PHP, the scope resolution operator is also called Paamayim Nekudotayim (Hebrew: ?????? ?????????), 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!

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)) {

}

It's Hebrew for "double colon".

I know Hebrew pretty well, so to clarify the name "Paamayim Nekudotayim" for you, the paraphrased meaning is "double colon", but translated literally:

• "Paamayim" means "two" or "twice"
• "Nekudotayim" means "dots" (lit. "holes")
  • In the Hebrew language, a nekuda means a dot.
  • The plural is nekudot, i.e, dots that act like vowels do in english.
  • The reason it why it's called Nekudo-tayim is because the suffix "-ayim" also means "two" or "twice", thus :: denotes "two times, two dots", or more commonly known as the Scope Resolution Operator.

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 :-)

This can happen on foreachs when using:

foreach( $array as $key = $value )

instead of

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