Php unexpected T_String on php4 webhost but not on php5 localhost

Question

I am getting a really frustrating problem with my php script below. Everything works as expected on my local machine using XAMPP, but when I put it on the web I get:

Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_STRING, expecting T_OLD_FUNCTION or T_FUNCTION or T_VAR or '}' in /homepages/38/d220091779/htdocs/roughgiraffed/RG2/portfolio_item_vars.php on line 20

I would greatly appreciate it if someone would take a quick look for me, or offer some advice.

The error is on the line directly below array_push($projectImages, $filePath); near the bottom of the function.

EDIT: Even though the error is listed as being on line 20 (in getImages()) I removed the class below and the error went away. Of course, I still want the class to work... but does this mean it is a problem with my php version after all?

<?php

$pageTitle = "Portfolio";

//return an array of the (non-featured, non-thumb) images within a given project
function getImages($category, $project){
    $projectImages = Array();
    if ($dir = opendir("portfolio/" . $category . "/" . $project . "/")){
        //open each 'file' in the directory
        while($file = readdir($dir)){
            $filePath = "portfolio/" . $category.'/'.$project.'/'.$file;
            //check if it really is a file
            if($file != "." && $file != ".." && $file[0] != '.' && is_file($filePath)) {
                //check if it is an image
                if(getimagesize($filePath)){
                    //ignore featured_image and _thumbs
                    if(!strstr($file, "featured_image") && !strstr($file, "_thumb")){
                        //Add the non-featured, non-thumb image to the array
                        array_push($projectImages, $filePath);
                    }
                }
            }
        }
        closedir($dir);   
    }
    return $projectImages;
}

class ImgResizer {
    private $originalFile = '';
    public function __construct($originalFile = '') {
        $this -> originalFile = $originalFile;
    }
    public function resize($newWidth, $targetFile) {
        if (empty($newWidth) || empty($targetFile)) {
            return false;
        }
        $src = imagecreatefromjpeg($this -> originalFile);
        list($width, $height) = getimagesize($this -> originalFile);
        $newHeight = ($height / $width) * $newWidth;
        $tmp = imagecreatetruecolor($newWidth, $newHeight);
        imagecopyresampled($tmp, $src, 0, 0, 0, 0, $newWidth, $newHeight, $width, $height);
        if (file_exists($targetFile)) {
            unlink($targetFile);
        }
        imagejpeg($tmp, $targetFile, 85); // 85 is my choice, make it between 0 – 100 for output image quality with 100 being the most luxurious
    }
}

?>

My Localhost is running PHP Version 5.3.1

The WebHost is running PHP Version 4.4.9

Answer 1

This weird kind of parse errors may happen in PHP4 if you use PHP5 specific things, like the public keyword, which was introduced with PHP5.

You maybe should have a look at the official PHP5 backward incompatibilties list when planning to run the very same source code under PHP4 and PHP5.

Excerpt:

Backward Incompatible Changes

Although most existing PHP 4 code should work without changes, you should pay attention to the following backward incompatible changes:

• There are some new reserved keywords.
• strrpos() and strripos() now use the entire string as a needle.
• Illegal use of string offsets causes E_ERROR instead of E_WARNING.

:

Answer 2

You can't use __construct() in PHP 4.

You have to use a function named the same as the class name.

Use ImgResizer() in place of __construct(), or get a better web host. PHP 4 is very old.

Answer 3

Thanks to the help of those in the comments, I determined that it was, in fact, an issue with php versions. Still, I have no idea why it was giving the error at line 20, about ten lines above the offending code.