Activated a new WP theme, getting this error: Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_STRING, expecting T_OLD_FUNCTION or T_FUNCTION or T_VAR or '}'

Question

I am seeing this error in a file called functions.php:

Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_STRING, expecting T_OLD_FUNCTION or T_FUNCTION or T_VAR or '}'

I just installed a new theme in wordpress, I don't know much php.

Is this something I can fix easily?

Answer 1

It means the syntax of the file is invalid for the version of PHP you're running it on. It probably means your version of PHP is outdated, i.e. the theme requires PHP5 and you're running on PHP4.

That, or it's a poorly developed theme that has syntax errors.