Ÿ Explain what PHP is.

Ÿ Does the PHP coding language

resemble any others?

Ÿ What is the difference between

variables and constants?

Ÿ Explain what a session is in PHP.

Ÿ Explain what PEAR means.

Ÿ Is the PHP language case sensitive?

Ÿ Outline three PHP variables.

Ÿ Which rules must be used when

naming variables in PHP?

Ÿ Explain the difference between “print”

and “echo.”
Ÿ What are some advantages of PHP?
Ÿ What are some disadvantages of
PHP?

Ÿ Which technical skills do you need to

use PHP?

Ÿ Which soft skills do you need to use

PHP in a team of developers?

Ÿ Can PHP interact with HTML?

Ÿ Name three uses of PHP.

Ÿ Describe how dynamic and static

websites are different.

Ÿ Explain what “NULL” means.

Ÿ What is meant by defining constants,

and how would you do this in PHP?
Ÿ What does the “break” statement do?

Ÿ What does the “continue” statement

do?
Ÿ How are PHP4 and PHP5 different?

Ÿ What is meant by single inheritance

in PHP?

Ÿ Does PHP support multiple

inheritance?

Ÿ What does the GD library do in PHP?

Ÿ What does “imagetypes()” do?

Ÿ How would you export data in PHP

to Excel?
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You

Explain what PHP is. Does the PHP

coding language resemble any
others? What is the difference
between variables and constants?
Explain what a session is in PHP.
Explain what PEAR means. Is the
PHP language case sensitive?
Outline three PHP variables. Which
rules must be used when naming
variables in
PHP? Explain the difference between
“print” and “echo.” What are some
advantages of PHP? What are some
disadvantages of PHP? Which
technical skills do you need to use
PHP? Which soft skills do you need
to use PHP in a team of developers?
Can PHP interact with HTML? Name
three uses of PHP. Describe how
dynamic and static websites are
different. Explain what “NULL”
means. What is meant by defining
constants, and how would you do this
in PHP? What does the “break”
statement do? What does the
“continue” statement do? How are
PHP4 and PHP5 different? What is
meant by single inheritance in PHP?
Does PHP support multiple
inheritance? What does the GD
library do in PHP? What does
“imagetypes()” do? How would you
export data in PHP to Excel?

ChatGPT

ChatGPT

PHP, which stands for Hypertext

Preprocessor, is a server-side
scripting language primarily used
for web development. It is often
embedded into HTML to add
functionality to websites, such as
generating dynamic content,
interacting with databases, and
handling forms.

PHP has syntax similarities with other

languages like C, Java, and Perl, but
it also has unique features specific to
web development.

Variables in PHP can vary in value

throughout the script, while constants
have fixed values that cannot be
changed during the execution of the
script.

In PHP, a session is a way to

preserve data across subsequent
HTTP requests. It allows information
to be stored on the server and
associated with a specific user.

PEAR stands for PHP Extension and

Application Repository. It's a
framework and distribution system for
reusable PHP components.

Yes, PHP is case-sensitive, meaning

variables,
functions, and other identifiers must
be written with consistent casing
throughout the code.

Three types of PHP variables are

strings, integers, and arrays.

When naming variables in PHP, you

must start with a letter or underscore,
followed by any combination of
letters, numbers, or underscores.

The main difference between "print"

and "echo" in PHP is that "print" can
only output one string, while "echo"
can output multiple strings separated
by commas.

Advantages of PHP include its ease

of use, wide availability of resources
and documentation, extensive built-in
functions for web development tasks,
and compatibility with various
databases and web servers.

Disadvantages of PHP may include

its sometimes inconsistent naming
conventions, potential security
vulnerabilities if not used
correctly, and performance issues in
certain scenarios compared to other
languages like Java or Node.js.

To use PHP, you need technical skills

in programming, understanding of
web development concepts like
HTML, CSS, and JavaScript,
familiarity with databases like
MySQL, and knowledge of server
configurations.

Soft skills for using PHP in a team

include effective communication,
collaboration, problem-solving, and
the ability to work well within a team
environment.

Yes, PHP can interact with HTML by

embedding PHP code directly within
HTML documents or by generating
HTML dynamically through PHP
scripts.

Three common uses of PHP are

server-side scripting for dynamic web
page generation, handling form
submissions and processing user
input, and interacting with databases
to retrieve
and store data.

Dynamic websites generate content

dynamically, usually pulling data from
databases or other sources in real-
time, while static websites display
prebuilt content without any server-
side processing.

In PHP, "NULL" represents a variable

with no value assigned to it.

Constants in PHP are defined using

the define() function. For example:
define("PI", 3.14);

The "break" statement in PHP is used

to exit a loop or switch statement.

The "continue" statement in PHP is

used to skip the rest of the current
iteration of a loop and continue with
the next iteration.

PHP5 introduced numerous

improvements and features over
PHP4, including better object-
oriented programming support,
improved MySQL
extension (mysqli), enhanced error
handling, and performance
optimizations.

Single inheritance in PHP means a

class can only inherit properties and
methods from a single parent class.

No, PHP does not support multiple

inheritance directly, but it can be
achieved using interfaces and traits.

The GD library in PHP is used for

creating and manipulating images. It
provides functions for drawing
shapes, rendering text, and
performing various image
transformations.

The "imagetypes()" function in PHP

returns the image types supported by
the current PHP installation.

To export data to Excel in PHP, you

can use libraries like PHPExcel or
PHPSpreadsheet to generate Excel
files programmatically, or you can
output data in a format that Excel can
read,
 such as CSV (Comma Separated
Values).

Ÿ with HTML?

Ÿ What does “@” do in PHP?

Ÿ How important is a parser in PHP?

Ÿ Outline three types of arrays in PHP

Ÿ Describe the three main error types

in PHP.

Ÿ Explain what traits are.

Ÿ Can PHP interact with JavaScript?

Ÿ How is “include()” different to

“require()”?
Ÿ Explain what cookies are and how to
create them in PHP.

Ÿ Explain how PHP is different from

ASP.NET.

Ÿ Explain what “escaping to PHP”

means.
Ÿ Explain what “final method” means in
PHP.

Ÿ Which arrays does PHP support?

Ÿ What are indexed arrays?

Ÿ What are associative arrays?

Ÿ How are associative arrays different

from indexed arrays?

Ÿ What are multidimensional arrays?

Ÿ How is “require()” different from

“require_once()”?

Ÿ How would you set an infinite

execution time in PHP?
Ÿ What do constructors do?

Ÿ What do destructors do?

Ÿ Name some of the best content
management systems that work
using PHP.

Ÿ How would you make a comment in

PHP?

Ÿ How would you hash a password in

PHP?

Ÿ When would you use the

“file_get_contents()” function?

Ÿ What does “mysql_pconnect()” help

you do?

Ÿ What does the “empty()” function do?

Ÿ What does the “unlink()” function do?

Ÿ What does the “strip_tags” function

 do?

Ÿ What does the “unset()” function do?

Ÿ What does the “static variable”

function do?

Ÿ What does “crypt()” do?

Ÿ What does the “goto” statement help
you to do?

Ÿ How is “strstr()” different from

“stristr()”?

Ÿ Explain what “$_FILES” means.

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You

Explain what PHP is. Does the PHP

coding language resemble any
others? What is the difference
between variables and constants?
Explain what a session is in PHP.
Explain what PEAR means. Is the
PHP language case sensitive?
Outline three PHP variables. Which
rules must be used when naming
variables in PHP? Explain the
difference between “print” and “echo.”
What are some advantages of PHP?
What are some disadvantages of
PHP? Which technical skills do you
need to use PHP? Which
soft skills do you need to use PHP in
a team of developers? Can PHP
interact with HTML? Name three
uses of PHP. Describe how dynamic
and static websites are different.
Explain what “NULL” means. What is
meant by defining constants, and
how would you do this in PHP? What
does the “break” statement do? What
does the “continue” statement do?
How are PHP4 and PHP5 different?
What is meant by single inheritance
in PHP? Does PHP support multiple
inheritance? What does the GD
library do in PHP? What does
“imagetypes()” do? How would you
export data in PHP to Excel?

ChatGPT

ChatGPT
PHP, which stands for Hypertext
Preprocessor, is a server-side
scripting language primarily used for
web development. It is often
embedded into HTML to add
functionality to websites, such as
generating dynamic content,
interacting with databases, and
handling forms.
PHP has syntax similarities with other
languages like C, Java, and Perl, but
it also has unique features specific to
web development.

Variables in PHP can vary in value

throughout the script, while constants
have fixed values that cannot be
changed during the execution of the
script.

In PHP, a session is a way to

preserve data across subsequent
HTTP requests. It allows information
to be stored on the server and
associated with a specific user.

PEAR stands for PHP Extension and

Application Repository. It's a
framework and distribution system for
reusable PHP components.

Yes, PHP is case-sensitive, meaning

variables, functions, and other
identifiers must be written with
consistent casing throughout the
code.

Three types of PHP variables are

strings,
integers, and arrays.

When naming variables in PHP, you

must start with a letter or underscore,
followed by any combination of
letters, numbers, or underscores.

The main difference between "print"

and "echo" in PHP is that "print" can
only output one string, while "echo"
can output multiple strings separated
by commas.

Advantages of PHP include its ease

of use, wide availability of resources
and documentation, extensive built-in
functions for web development tasks,
and compatibility with various
databases and web servers.

Disadvantages of PHP may include

its sometimes inconsistent naming
conventions, potential security
vulnerabilities if not used correctly,
and performance issues in certain
scenarios compared to other
languages like Java or Node.js.
To use PHP, you need technical skills
in programming, understanding of
web development concepts like
HTML, CSS, and JavaScript,
familiarity with databases like
MySQL, and knowledge of server
configurations.

Soft skills for using PHP in a team

include effective communication,
collaboration, problem-solving, and
the ability to work well within a team
environment.

Yes, PHP can interact with HTML by

embedding PHP code directly within
HTML documents or by generating
HTML dynamically through PHP
scripts.

Three common uses of PHP are

server-side scripting for dynamic web
page generation, handling form
submissions and processing user
input, and interacting with databases
to retrieve and store data.

Dynamic websites generate content

dynamically, usually pulling data from
databases or other
sources in real-time, while static
websites display prebuilt content
without any server-side processing.

In PHP, "NULL" represents a variable

with no value assigned to it.

Constants in PHP are defined using

the define() function. For example:
define("PI", 3.14);

The "break" statement in PHP is used

to exit a loop or switch statement.

The "continue" statement in PHP is

used to skip the rest of the current
iteration of a loop and continue with
the next iteration.

PHP5 introduced numerous

improvements and features over
PHP4, including better object-
oriented programming support,
improved MySQL extension (mysqli),
enhanced error handling, and
performance optimizations.

Single inheritance in PHP means a

class can
only inherit properties and methods
from a single parent class.

No, PHP does not support multiple

inheritance directly, but it can be
achieved using interfaces and traits.

The GD library in PHP is used for

creating and manipulating images. It
provides functions for drawing
shapes, rendering text, and
performing various image
transformations.

The "imagetypes()" function in PHP

returns the image types supported by
the current PHP installation.

To export data to Excel in PHP, you

can use libraries like PHPExcel or
PHPSpreadsheet to generate Excel
files programmatically, or you can
output data in a format that Excel can
read, such as CSV (Comma
Separated Values).

You
with HTML? What does “@” do in
PHP? How important is a parser in
PHP? Outline three types of arrays in
PHP Describe the three main error
types in PHP. Explain what traits are.
Can PHP interact with JavaScript?
How is “include()” different to
“require()”? Explain what cookies are
and how to create them in PHP.
Explain how PHP is different from
ASP.NET. Explain what “escaping to
PHP” means. Explain what “final
method” means in PHP. Which arrays
does PHP support? What are
indexed arrays? What are associative
arrays? How are associative arrays
different from indexed arrays? What
are multidimensional arrays? How is
“require()” different from
“require_once()”? How would you set
an infinite execution time in PHP?
What do constructors do? What do
destructors do? Name some of the
best content management systems
that work using PHP. How would you
make a comment in PHP? How
would you hash a password in PHP?
When would you use the
“file_get_contents()” function? What
does “mysql_pconnect()” help you
do? What does the “empty()” function
do? What does the “unlink()”
function do? What does the
“strip_tags” function do? What does
the “unset()” function do? What does
the “static variable” function do?
What does “crypt()” do? What does
the “goto” statement help you to do?
How is “strstr()” different from
“stristr()”? Explain what “$_FILES”
means.

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Yes, PHP can interact with

JavaScript, typically through AJAX
(Asynchronous JavaScript and XML)
requests, where PHP scripts on the
server-side respond to JavaScript
requests made by the client-side.
The "@" symbol in PHP is used to
suppress error messages that would
normally be displayed.

A parser in PHP is essential as it

processes PHP code and translates it
into instructions that the server can
understand and execute.
Three types of arrays in PHP are
indexed arrays, associative arrays,
and multidimensional arrays.

The three main error types in PHP

are notices, warnings, and fatal
errors. Notices are non-critical errors,
warnings indicate potential issues,
and fatal errors halt script execution.

Traits in PHP are a mechanism for

code reuse in single inheritance
languages. They allow a developer to
reuse sets of methods freely in
several independent classes.

Cookies are small pieces of data sent

from a website and stored on the
user's computer by the web browser.
In PHP, you can create cookies using
the setcookie() function.

PHP and ASP.NET are both server-

side technologies used for web
development, but PHP is open-
source and platform-independent,
while ASP.NET is a Microsoft
framework.
"Escaping to PHP" means switching
from HTML mode to PHP mode in a
script to execute PHP code within an
HTML document.

A "final method" in PHP is a method

that cannot be overridden by
subclasses.

PHP supports three types of arrays:

indexed arrays, associative arrays,
and multidimensional arrays.

Indexed arrays in PHP are arrays

where each element is assigned a
numeric index.

Associative arrays in PHP are arrays

where each element is associated
with a specific key instead of a
numeric index.
Associative arrays differ from indexed
arrays in that they use keys instead
of numeric indices to access
elements.

Multidimensional arrays in PHP are

arrays containing one or more arrays
as elements.
The require() function includes and
evaluates a specified file during the
execution of a script, whereas
require_once() includes the file only if
it has not been included before.

To set an infinite execution time in

PHP, you can use the
set_time_limit(0) function.

Constructors in PHP are special

methods that are automatically called
when an object is created.

Destructors in PHP are special

methods that are automatically called
when an object is destroyed or when
the script ends.

Some popular content management

systems (CMS) that use PHP include
WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal.

To make a comment in PHP, you can

use either // for single-line comments
or /* */ for multi-line comments.
You can hash a password in PHP
using functions like password_hash()
or crypt().

You would use the file_get_contents()

function in PHP to read the contents
of a file into a string.

The mysql_pconnect() function in

PHP helps you establish a persistent
connection to a MySQL database.

The empty() function in PHP checks

whether a variable is empty.

The unlink() function in PHP deletes

a file.

The strip_tags() function in PHP

removes HTML and PHP tags from a
string.

The unset() function in PHP destroys

the specified variables.

A static variable in PHP is a variable

that retains its value between
function calls.
The crypt() function in PHP is used
for one-way hashing of data.

The goto statement in PHP allows

jumping to another section of code
within the same script.

strstr() searches for the first

occurrence of a string within another
string, while stristr() is case-
insensitive.

$_FILES is a PHP superglobal array

used to retrieve information about
uploaded files via HTTP POST.

with HTML?
Since PHP is a scripting language
used on the server-side and HTML is
a language used on the client-side,
the main advantage of their
interaction is that it brings together
both server and client sides. It makes
it easier to provide content from a
database to an HTML web page
and display the content there.

2. How important is a
parser in PHP?
Parsers can be useful for converting
source code into a code type that a
computer understands. Mid-level
candidates should know that the
code, which is written in PHP, goes
through a lexical analyzer. Once it
has passed through the analyzer, the
parser builds a syntax tree, which is
handy for developers to check static
code for errors.

3. Describe three main

error types in PHP.
Are your candidates aware that the
three main PHP error types are
notices, warnings, and fatal errors?
Can they explain what each of these
PHP error types means? For
instance, whereas notices are not
considered critical and aren’t shown
to the user, both warnings and fatal
errors are displayed, and fatal errors
can cause
the script to terminate.

4. Which arrays does PHP

support?
Your candidates might mention three
main arrays when responding to this
question: indexed arrays, associative
arrays, and multidimensional arrays.

Mid-level developers should know

that indexed arrays contain numerical
data, associative arrays contain
strings used for element indexing,
and multidimensional arrays contain
multiple dimensions and indexes.

5. Can PHP interact with

JavaScript?
In the same way that PHP can
interact with HTML, PHP can also
interact with JavaScript. Candidates
should understand that PHP can
create JavaScript variables that you
can run in a browser. They should
also understand that a URL makes
this possible.
Ÿ How can you use MySQL and PHP to
make a new database?

Ÿ Explain what “session_start()”

means.

Ÿ Explain what “session_destroy”

means.

Ÿ Explain what “memcache” means.

Ÿ Describe what the Memcached

system is.

Ÿ What does “mysqli_fetch_array()” do

in PHP?

Ÿ What does “mysqli_fetch_assoc()” do

in PHP?
Ÿ What does “mysqli_fetch_object()” do
in PHP?

Ÿ What does “mysqli_fetch_row()” do in

PHP?

Ÿ Which steps would you take to create

a PHP API?
Ÿ What is the difference between
“POST” and “GET”?

Ÿ Describe what overloading means in

PHP.

Ÿ Describe what overriding means in

PHP.

Ÿ In PHP, how is “$message” different

from “$$message”?

Ÿ What does “callback” do in PHP?

Ÿ Explain what the “lambda” function

does.

Ÿ Explain what “magic functions” do.

Ÿ Give three examples of the main

 magic functions.

Ÿ How do you carry out password

encryption in PHP?

Ÿ Explain what type hinting is.

Ÿ Explain how compile time exceptions
are different from runtime exceptions.

Ÿ Does PHP support typecasting?

Ÿ Does PHP support variable length

arguments?

Ÿ How would you open a file using

PHP?

Ÿ Can URLs connect to PHP? How?

Ÿ How does Java compare with PHP?

Ÿ How would you submit forms if there

was no submit button in PHP?

Ÿ Explain what Zend Engine is.

Ÿ Explain what “.htaccess” is.

Ÿ Why is “.htaccess” used?

Ÿ What is meant by Smarty?

Ÿ Explain what “soundex()” is.

Ÿ Explain what “metaphone()” is.

Ÿ What is the ternary conditional

operator?

Ÿ How would you share a single

memcache instance with various
projects in PHP?

Ÿ How is “foreach” different from “for”?

Ÿ Explain what “$_SERVER” means.

Ÿ Explain what “$GLOBALS” means.

Ÿ What is meant by propagating a

session id?
Ÿ Creating a MySQL Database with
PHP: You'd use PHP's mysqli
extension to connect to MySQL and
execute SQL queries to create a new
database.
Ÿ session_start(): This function in
PHP initiates a session or resumes
the current one based on a session
identifier passed via a GET or POST
request, or passed via a cookie.

Ÿ session_destroy(): This function in

PHP destroys all data registered to a
session.

Ÿ memcache: This is a memory

caching system used to speed up
dynamic database-driven websites by
caching data and objects in memory
to reduce the number of times an
external data source (such as a
database or API) must be read.

Ÿ Memcached System: It's a

distributed memory caching system,
often used to speed up dynamic web
 applications by alleviating database
load.

Ÿ mysqli_fetch_array(): This function

in PHP fetches a result row as an
associative array, a numeric array, or
both.
Ÿ mysqli_fetch_assoc(): This function
in PHP fetches a result row as an
associative array.

Ÿ mysqli_fetch_object(): This function

in PHP fetches a result row as an
object.

Ÿ mysqli_fetch_row(): This function in

PHP fetches a result row as an
enumerated array.

Ÿ Creating a PHP API: Steps include

defining endpoints, handling requests
and responses, connecting to a
database if necessary, implementing
authentication, and documenting the
API.

Ÿ Difference between POST and

 GET: POST submits data to be
processed to a specified resource,
while GET submits data to be
processed to a specified resource in
the URL.

Ÿ Overloading in PHP: It refers to

dynamically creating properties and
methods in an object.
Ÿ Overriding in PHP: It refers to a
child class defining a method with the
same name as a method in the
parent class, thus replacing the
parent method.

Ÿ Difference between $message and

$$message: $message is a variable
with a fixed name, while $$message
is a variable variable, meaning its
name is dynamically determined by
the value of $message.

Ÿ Callback in PHP: It's a reference to

a function that can be passed as an
argument to another function or used
as a variable.

Ÿ Lambda function: It's an

anonymous function in PHP, typically
 used as a callback function.

Ÿ Magic functions in PHP: These are

predefined functions in PHP classes
that are triggered when certain
events occur.
Ÿ Examples of magic functions:
__construct() (for object initialization),
__toString() (to convert an object to a
string), and __get() (to access
inaccessible properties).

Ÿ Password encryption in PHP: You'd

typically use functions like
password_hash() and
password_verify().

Ÿ Type hinting: It's specifying the data

type of a parameter or return value in
a function or method declaration.

Ÿ Compile time vs Runtime

exceptions: Compile-time
exceptions occur during the
compilation of code, while runtime
exceptions occur while the code is
being executed.
Ÿ Typecasting in PHP: Yes, PHP
supports typecasting, allowing you to
convert variables from one data type
to another.

Ÿ Variable length arguments: Yes,

PHP
 supports variable length arguments
using the func_num_args(),
func_get_args(), and func_get_arg()
functions.

Ÿ Opening a file in PHP: You'd

typically use functions like fopen(),
file_get_contents(), or fread().

Ÿ PHP and URLs: PHP can handle

requests sent to specific URLs via a
web server like Apache or Nginx,
typically using the server's
configuration to map URLs to PHP
scripts.

Ÿ Comparison of Java and PHP: Both

are programming languages, but
Java is more commonly used for
enterprise-level applications, while
PHP is often used for web
 development.

Ÿ Submitting forms without a submit

button: You could use JavaScript to
trigger form submission based on
certain events like input changes or
timeouts.
Ÿ Zend Engine: It's the open-source
scripting engine that interprets PHP
and executes the code.

Ÿ .htaccess: It's a configuration file for

web servers, often used to control
access, set up redirects, and handle
other server-related tasks.

Ÿ Purpose of .htaccess: It's used to

configure directory-level settings on
Apache web servers without altering
server configuration files.

Ÿ Smarty: It's a template engine for

PHP, allowing separation of
application logic and presentation.

Ÿ soundex(): It's a PHP function that

calculates the soundex key of a
string.
Ÿ metaphone(): It's a PHP function
that calculates the metaphone key of
a string.
Ÿ Ternary conditional operator: It's a
shorthand for an if-else statement in
PHP, often used for concise
conditional assignment.

Ÿ Sharing a single memcache

instance: You'd typically use
consistent hashing or namespace
prefixes to isolate data for different
projects sharing the same memcache
instance.

Ÿ Difference between foreach and

for: foreach iterates over the
elements of an array or collection,
while for is a general-purpose loop
construct.

Ÿ $_SERVER: It's a PHP superglobal

variable that holds information about
headers, paths, and script locations.
Ÿ $GLOBALS: It's a PHP superglobal
variable that holds references to all
variables available in global scope.

Ÿ Propagating a session id: It means

passing
the session id from one request to
another, typically via cookies or URL
parameters, to maintain session state
across multiple requests.

Explain what type hinting

is.
Type hinting is a function used in
PHP to define an argument’s data
type clearly. The function instigates a
check on the specified data types
and searches for differences between
the specified type and the data type.
If there are differences, PHP will stop
the execution and produce an error.

2. How does Java compare

with PHP?
There are a few points candidates
may mention when
comparing Java with PHP. The first is
the area of deployment. PHP’s area
of deployment is server-side,
whereas Java’s is for programming in
a general sense.
The second is the language type.
Candidates could mention that
whereas PHP is dynamic, Java is a
static language type.

The third is the type of API.

Candidates may mention that PHP
doesn’t provide rich APIs, whereas
Java does.

3. Can URLs connect to

PHP? How?
The simple answer is that, yes, URLs
can connect to PHP. Senior-level
PHP developers should know that
they can use a “cURL” to connect a
URL to PHP. They should also be
able to explain that a “cURL” is a
client-side URL and a default library
that is part of PHP.

4. How would you open a

file in PHP?
There are many file-related functions
in PHP that developers use for file
operations. Candidates should know
that “fopen()” is the function that
opens files in PHP. They may explain
that the “$filename” and “$mode”
arguments form parts of this essential
function.

5. Does PHP support

typecasting?
Senior-level PHP developers should
know that PHP does support
typecasting. They will be able to
provide examples that show which
data types can be cast and how this
is done. For instance, the developer
must specify the output in
parentheses to indicate which output
is expected, such as bool to Boolean.