Dreamweaver shows an error for the Null Coalescing Operator (??), a PHP 7 feature

[andyd273]

I've changed my Dreamweaver settings to be PHP 7+ compliant.

Some simple code like the Null Coalescing Operator ?? throws errors and causes trouble when it it fully valid code.
Please make Dreamweaver fully PHP 7+ compliant.

// Old stupid way

$Test = isnull($_POST["PossiblyNullField"])?$_POST["PossiblyNullField"]:"";

// This is the PHP 7+ correct way to make sure that a field that may or may not exist, depending on if the user put data into it doesn't throw an error:

$text = $_POST["PossiblyNullField"]??"";

[Ben M]

Unfortunately DW is in minimal maitenance mode so the odds of it staying up to date like you are asking are slim to none especially since the current version is 8.2. You may need to consider other options.

[Nancy OShea]

👍 to what @Ben M said.  Dreamweaver has no support for PHP higher than 7.x 

You can disable code Linting from your Preferences panel.   See screenshot.

[andyd273]

The Null Coalescing Operator was introduced in PHP7, so it's not just an 8+ thing.
I disabled the linting thing, but it doesn't seem to do anything that I can tell.
I just made a small php test page, added this code:
<?php
$t = $nt??"";

?>
The line turns red to show that it has an error, and then stays red even when I turn linting off.
Thanks for the suggestion though!

[Markus30594642ksqb]

I have the same problem. Why is the bug not fixed by Adobe?

[andyd273 · Accepted solution]

I finally found a solution to this issue!
I happened to stuble across it somwhere, but here's what to do:

Go to Manage Sites.
Edit the site definition for your website.
Expand Advanced Settings, and then click on PHP.
Change the PHP Version to PHP 7.1 instead of PHP 5.6
Thats it!
Now the error will go away, and you can ?? to your hearts content.

[Nancy OShea]

Change the PHP Version to PHP 7.1 instead of PHP 5.6

By @andyd273

==============

That's not a solution.  As of this writing (9/18/2024), the current stable release of PHP is version 8.2, released on November 24, 2022.

PHP 7.4 is END OF LIFE

It no longer offers more security updates and is affected by multiple vulnerabilities.  If you keep using the PHP 7.4 or lower versions, your site could be vulnerable to potential attack.

@Markus30594642ksqb,

Dreamweaver is in minimal maintenance status.  No new features are planned except essential compatibility updates. The PHP versions it supports are sorely out of date and should NOT be used for current development.  😓

See this link for more details:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/dreamweaver-discussions/bootstrap-5/m-p/14046967#M225831

[rfree190]

My server is running PHP 7.2.26. I'm coding in Dreamweaver CC (Ver 19.2.1). I'm using null-coalescing operator on a page, but Dreamweaver is giving me "Syntax Error, Unexpected '?'" as a line error.

My code:

($_SESSION['form_data']['smtpEmailAddress'] ?? "")

It works fine when viewing in a browser. I only get the error in Dreamweaver. Is there a way to get Dreamweaver to accept Null-coalescing Operator? Dreamweaver is currently set to use PHP 7.1. 7.2 is not an option within preferences.

I know I could just ignore the Dreamweaver error, but I do scan my code for errors using the Dreamweaver error indicators. I'd rather fix Dreamweaver than just ignore the error.

[Nancy OShea]

I do not know of any way to upgrade code hinting and error reporting to PHP 7.2.  I think you'll need to ignore it and wait for a DW update.   See the 2020 Roadmap below.

https://community.adobe.com/t5/dreamweaver/dreamweaver-2020-roadmap/td-p/10885179?page=1

[Markus30594642ksqb]

The error has still not been corrected.

[Jon Fritz]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it's very likely it never will be. 

DW has been moved to a minimum development status by Adobe. They only plan to fix security issues, OS compatibility problems, and update third party bolt-on libraries (though they're already very behind on the last one). 

No new features or bug fixes beyond those three elements are planned going forward.

Essentially, the program is on life support for the current userbase, only Adobe knows if or when they'll pull the plug.

[Markus30594642ksqb]

What am I actually paying a lot of money for this?

Can anyone here recommend another, better program?

[Jon Fritz]

PHP Storm is far better than DW with PHP, but it's definitely not a complete replacement for the other things DW still handles well. There are all kinds of similar software out there, maybe Wappler would work better if you still need the visual tools DW has been terrible at updating over the years.

[Nancy OShea]

[Moderator merged topics.]