Is this normal? Try putting this function in your controller (any controller) and try accessing any methods that use that controller. ;-)

function auto_complete_for_spot_find_spot() { // simple thing here ?> }

When I do it, I get a white (error) screen. This makes it hard test functions that return strings of inline php (like ajax responses). Does anyone else have their app crash by putting the above function in a controller? Thanks!

PHP parser terminates php code blocks at ?>, including inside comments.

So this would be valid code:

 <?php echo "Hello World"; // "blahblah"; ?>

However, with your code posted above, the closing curly brace isn't enclosed in php tags, so it isn't parsed. Yes, it's annoying. Simply remove the ?> from your comment or use the muti-line comments: /* */.

Refer to the PHP documentation