Title: cron syntax error
Last modified: June 20, 2021

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# cron syntax error

 *  Resolved [James I.](https://wordpress.org/support/users/nootropixcom/)
 * (@nootropixcom)
 * [4 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cron-syntax-error/)
 * Hi,
 * I’ve updated wordpress and now I’m getting this error:
 *     ```
       Cron <*****@tyche> /opt/plesk/php/5.6/bin/php -f '/****/wp-cron.php' > /dev/null
   
       PHP Parse error:  syntax error, unexpected ':', expecting ';' or '{' in /*****/wp-content/plugins/footnotes/class/hooks.php on line 57
       ```
   
 * Any help with this?
 * Thanks

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

 *  Plugin Contributor [pewgeuges](https://wordpress.org/support/users/pewgeuges/)
 * (@pewgeuges)
 * [4 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cron-syntax-error/#post-14576753)
 * [@nootropixcom](https://wordpress.org/support/users/nootropixcom/)
 * Excuse-me please for having terminated compatibility with PHP 5.6. For Footnotes v2.6.6(
   April 13) I’ve raised the minimum required PHP from 5.6 to 7.0:
 * [https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/footnotes/trunk/readme.txt?rev=2513893](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/footnotes/trunk/readme.txt?rev=2513893)
 * See diff:
 * [https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/2513893/footnotes/trunk/readme.txt](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/2513893/footnotes/trunk/readme.txt)
 * I wasn’t aware that PHP 5.6 is still actively used.
 * The parse error you are seeing is from a return type declaration, that PHP supports
   since 7.0:
 * [https://www.php.net/manual/en/migration70.new-features.php#migration70.new-features.return-type-declarations](https://www.php.net/manual/en/migration70.new-features.php#migration70.new-features.return-type-declarations)
 * In the process of overhauling the Footnotes plugin’s menu position and admin 
   links, a return type declaration has been added for current v2.7.3 (April 19):
 * [https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/footnotes/tags/2.7.3/class/hooks.php?rev=2521062#L57](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/footnotes/tags/2.7.3/class/hooks.php?rev=2521062#L57)
 * If you cannot solve the problem by upgrading PHP, please let the Footnotes team
   know. I’m confident that they will discard the incompatible syntax (that this
   instance doesn’t seem to call for), and eventually set the PHP threshold back
   to the previous version if that meets your requirements.
    -  This reply was modified 4 years, 11 months ago by [pewgeuges](https://wordpress.org/support/users/pewgeuges/).
      Reason: add link to diff
    -  This reply was modified 4 years, 11 months ago by [pewgeuges](https://wordpress.org/support/users/pewgeuges/).
 *  Plugin Contributor [Rumperuu](https://wordpress.org/support/users/rumperuu/)
 * (@rumperuu)
 * [4 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cron-syntax-error/#post-14579007)
 * Hi [@nootropixcom](https://wordpress.org/support/users/nootropixcom/),
 * As [@pewgeuges](https://wordpress.org/support/users/pewgeuges/) mentioned, the
   minimum supported version of PHP for this Plugin is 7.0 as of release 2.6.6.
 * In the next major release of the Plugin (3.0), we will be [raising this minimum to PHP 7.4](https://github.com/markcheret/footnotes/discussions/167)(
   in line with the [minimum requirements of WordPress itself](https://wordpress.org/about/requirements/)).
   We are exploring ways of automatically downgrading the Plugin source to support
   older PHP versions, but anything below the WordPress minimum will not be officially
   tested or supported by us.
 * PHP 5.6 has been EOL [since the end of 2018](https://www.php.net/supported-versions.php).
 *  Plugin Contributor [pewgeuges](https://wordpress.org/support/users/pewgeuges/)
 * (@pewgeuges)
 * [4 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cron-syntax-error/#post-14583456)
 * [@nootropixcom](https://wordpress.org/support/users/nootropixcom/), [@rumperuu](https://wordpress.org/support/users/rumperuu/),
 * Sorry for getting back because of confusing terminology.
 * The WordPress **recommendation** of PHP 7.4 that [@rumperuu](https://wordpress.org/support/users/rumperuu/)
   links to is followed by a compatibility statement with a caveat:
 * “Note: If you are in a legacy environment where you only have older PHP or MySQL
   versions, WordPress also works with PHP 5.6.20+ and MySQL 5.0+, but these versions
   have reached official End Of Life and as such **may expose your site to security
   vulnerabilities.**”
 * I was absolutely wrong when—unilaterally at our end—terminating PHP 5.6 compatibility
   for the Footnotes plugin, given WordPress itself is PHP 5.6 compatible. As often
   in the past, I ignored the specs.
 * My apologies!

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

The topic ‘cron syntax error’ is closed to new replies.

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## Tags

 * [php](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/php/)

 * 3 replies
 * 3 participants
 * Last reply from: [pewgeuges](https://wordpress.org/support/users/pewgeuges/)
 * Last activity: [4 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cron-syntax-error/#post-14583456)
 * Status: resolved