Zend Framework Installation on xampp errors - php

Question

I am trying to install zend on xampp and l am continuosly getting errors.
Firstly l am getting:
Parse error: syntax error, unexpected 'class' (T_CLASS), expecting identifier (T_STRING) or variable (T_VARIABLE) or '{' or '$' in C:\xampp\htdocs\zend\ZendSkeletonApplication\public\index.php on line 24
Line 24 is as follows:
if (! class_exists(Application::class)) {
I solved this by making Application::class a string.
then l got the second error below:
Warning: include(C:\xampp\htdocs\zend\ZendSkeletonApplication\public/../vendor/autoload.php): failed to open stream: No such file or directory in C:\xampp\htdocs\zend\ZendSkeletonApplication\public\index.php on line 22
Warning: include(): Failed opening 'C:\xampp\htdocs\zend\ZendSkeletonApplication\public/../vendor/autoload.php' for inclusion (include_path='.;\xampp\php\PEAR') in C:\xampp\htdocs\zend\ZendSkeletonApplication\public\index.php on line 22
Fatal error: Uncaught exception 'RuntimeException' with message 'Unable to load application. - Type composer install if you are developing locally. - Type vagrant ssh -c 'composer install' if you are using Vagrant. - Type docker-compose run zf composer install if you are using Docker. ' in C:\xampp\htdocs\zend\ZendSkeletonApplication\public\index.php:25 Stack trace: #0 {main} thrown in C:\xampp\htdocs\zend\ZendSkeletonApplication\public\index.php on line 25
where am l supposed to find the vendor folder with the autoload page? I would lie to solve to it today , lol, l have been attempting it for days unend.
Thank you in advance for your assistance

Answer 1

Using Composer is the recommended way to install Zend Framework (this creates the vendor folder). Personally I've never done this using Windows, but there are some instructions here which should help: https://docs.zendframework.com/tutorials/getting-started/skeleton-application/#windows-users-using-wamp
From the look of the first error message in your question, the version of PHP you're running is too low to run the current version of ZF, so you might need to upgrade PHP first. (Composer would normally tell you this during installation.)