Question

What’s the difference between the include() and require() functions?

Answer

They both include a specific file but on require the process exits with a fatal error if the file can’t be included, while include statement may still pass and jump to the next step in the execution.

Send a correction

Question

What are the main error types in PHP and how do they differ?

Answer

In PHP there are three main type of errors:

• Notices – Simple, non-critical errors that are occurred during the script execution. An example of a Notice would be accessing an undefined variable.
• Warnings – more important errors than Notices, however the scripts continue the execution. An example would be include() a file that does not exist.
• Fatal – this type of error causes a termination of the script execution when it occurs. An example of a Fatal error would be accessing a property of a non-existent object or require() a non-existent file.

Send a correction

Question

How can you enable error reporting in PHP?

Answer

Check if “display_errors” is equal “on” in the php.ini or declare “ini_set('display_errors', 1)” in your script.

Then, include “error_reporting(E_ALL)” in your code to display all types of error messages during the script execution.

Enabling error messages is very important especially during the debugging process as you can instantly get the exact line that is producing the error and you can see also if the script in general is behaving correctly.

Send a correction

Question

What are Traits?

Answer

Traits are a mechanism that allows you to create reusable code in languages like PHP where multiple inheritance is not supported. A Trait cannot be instantiated on its own.

Send a correction

Question

What are the __construct() and __destruct() methods in a PHP class?

Answer

All objects in PHP have Constructor and Destructor methods built-in. The Constructor method is called immediately after a new instance of the class is being created, and it’s used to initialize class properties. The Destructor method takes no parameters.

Send a correction

Question

How can I get the number of elements in an array?

Answer

The count() function is used to return the number of elements in an array. There is also another function - sizeof() which is just an alias of count().

Send a correction

Question

What is the difference between public, private, and protected?

Answer

• Private – Visible only in its own class
• Public – Visible to any other code accessing the class
• Protected – Visible only to classes parent(s) and classes that extend the current class

Send a correction

Question

What are getters and setters and why are they important?

Answer

Getters and setters are methods used to declare or obtain the values of variables, usually private ones. They are important because it allows for a central location that is able to handle data prior to declaring it or returning it to the developer. Within a getter or setter you are able to consistently handle data that will eventually be passed into a variable or additional functions.

Send a correction

Question

How does one prevent the following Warning ‘Warning: Cannot modify header information – headers already sent’ and why does it occur in the first place?

Answer

Do not output anything to the browser before using code that modifies the HTTP headers. Once you call echo or any other code that clears the buffer you can no longer set cookies or headers. That is also true for error messages, so if an error happens before you use the header command and the INI directive display_errors is set then that will also cause that error to show.

Send a correction

Question

Why would you use === instead of ==?

Answer

If you would want to check for a certain type, like an integer or boolean, the === will do that exactly like one would expect from a strongly typed language, while == would convert the data temporarily and try to match both operand's types. The identity operator (===) also performs better as a result of not having to deal with type conversion. Especially when checking variables for true/false you want to avoid using == as this would also take into account 0/1 or other similar representation.

Send a correction

Question

What’s the difference between htmlentities() and htmlspecialchars()?

Answer

htmlspecialchars only takes care of <, >, single quote ‘, double quote " and ampersand. htmlentities translates all occurrences of character sequences that have different meaning in HTML.

Send a correction

Question

How can we increase the execution time of a PHP script?

Answer

Use function set_time_limit(int seconds) which sets the number of seconds a script is allowed to run. If this is reached, the script returns a fatal error. The default limit is 30 seconds or, if it exists, the max_execution_time value defined in the php.ini. If seconds is set to zero, no time limit is imposed.

Send a correction

Question

What is the maximum size of a file that can be uploaded using PHP and how can we change this?

Answer

You can change maximum size of a file set upload_max_filesize variable in php.ini file.

Send a correction

Question

What are the differences between PHP constants and variables?

Answer

• There is no need to write a dollar sign ($) before a constant, where as in Variable one has to write a dollar sign.
• Constants cannot be defined by simple assignment, they may only be defined using the define() function.
• Constants may be defined and accessed anywhere without regard to variable scoping rules.
• Once the Constants have been set, may not be redefined or undefined.

Send a correction

Question

How will you locate a string within a string in PHP?

Answer

The strpos() function is used to search for a string or character within a string. If a match is found in the string, this function will return the position of the first match. If no match is found, it will return FALSE.

Send a correction