PHP 5, the predecessor to the current version, had a fatal error. PHP 7, the current version, has a similar fatal error, but handles them differently. In PHP 7, a fatal error is raised when a program tries to access a memory location that does not exist. In PHP 5, a fatal error is raised when a program tries to access a string that is longer than 256 characters. Read more if get more details [probable spam link removed by moderator, and closing old thread]