Unexpected token "readonly", expecting "abstract" or "final" or "class" PHP Error

Unexpected token "readonly", expecting "abstract" or "final" or "class" PHP Error

The error message "Unexpected token 'readonly'", expecting "abstract" or "final" or "class" in PHP, indicates that there is a syntax error in your PHP code. This error occurs when the PHP compiler encounters a keyword that is not recognized or is used in an unexpected context. In this case, the compiler is expecting to find the keywords "abstract", "final", or "class" but instead encounters the keyword "readonly" which is not currently supported in PHP.

The "readonly" keyword is a new feature introduced in PHP 8.1 that allows declaring properties as read-only. However, if you are using an older version of PHP, you will encounter this error. To fix this error, you have a few options:

1. Upgrade your PHP version to at least PHP 8.1. This is the recommended solution as it will allow you to use the "readonly" keyword correctly.
2. Remove the "readonly" keyword from your code. If you don't need read-only properties in your code, you can simply remove the keyword and your code should work without any issues.
3. Use a workaround. If you need read-only properties in your code and can't upgrade your PHP version, you can use a workaround to achieve the same effect. One common workaround is to use a private property and a getter method to return the value of the property. Here's an example:

class MyClass {
    private $readonlyProperty;

    public function __construct($value) {
        $this->readonlyProperty = $value;
    }

    public function getReadonlyProperty() {
        return $this->readonlyProperty;
    }
}

$myObject = new MyClass('some value');
$myValue = $myObject->getReadonlyProperty(); // returns 'some value'
$myObject->readonlyProperty = 'new value'; // throws an error

In this example, the "readonlyProperty" property is marked as private and is initialized in the constructor. A getter method "getReadonlyProperty()" is used to return the value of the property. By making the property private, you effectively make it read-only as you can't set its value from outside the class.

By following one of the above solutions, you should be able to resolve the "Unexpected token 'readonly'" error in your PHP code.