Resolve PHP Compatability Checker Warnings

[AlexGStapleton]

PHP Compatibility Checker

FILE: /home1/EDITED/EDITED/wp-content/themes/vantage/inc/widgets.php
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FOUND 45 ERRORS AND 1 WARNING AFFECTING 31 LINES
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12 | WARNING | Function name "__construct" is discouraged; PHP has reserved all method names with a double underscore prefix for future use.
126 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
127 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
127 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
130 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
131 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
131 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
134 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
135 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
135 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
138 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
139 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
139 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
142 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
143 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
143 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
155 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
156 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
156 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
159 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
160 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
160 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
163 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
164 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
164 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
167 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
168 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
168 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
176 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
177 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
177 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
184 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
185 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
185 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
188 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
189 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
189 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
192 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
193 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
193 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
198 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
199 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
199 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
205 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
206 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
206 | ERROR | "$this" can no longer be used in a plain function or method since PHP 7.1.
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[AlexGStapleton]

@Misplon I've looked into this and I don't see a workable solution to this. The $this related errors are correct but the first line isn't correct - __construct is one of the special reserved methods it mentions. Regardless, I attempted a fix for the $this errors and ended up with the same number of errors and warnings but with a different message. This time it's:

 126 | ERROR   | Late static binding is not supported outside of class scope.
 127 | ERROR   | Late static binding is not supported outside of class scope.
etc.

Based on the new error and the __construct error, the plugin mustn't realize the code is in a class. I'm not too sure how we can really fix/avoid that. They maintain a whitelist so maybe the way forward is to submit a request for that? Worst comes to the worst and we are doing something wrong, they'll let us know.

[Misplon]

If this is a false positive, I'm happy to close. Thanks for investigating.

[Misplon]

Sure, if you have a moment, let's make a whitelist submission to help us and everyone out.

[AlexGStapleton]

I had an idea about what may be causing this. I reached out to the user who reported this and will report back shortly.

[Misplon]

Super, thanks.

[AlexGStapleton]

Okay I've finished the test, no dice. I had thought it was getting tricked by there being mutiple classes in the one file and tried switching to just one and no dice. :(

I'll submit a whitelist request later today.

[Misplon]

Super, thanks. Please, link the request here when it has been submitted. Once that's done, please, close this issue.

[AlexGStapleton]

wpengine/phpcompat#275