If you’re planning to hire a PHP developer, it’s important to evaluate their knowledge and experience with the language. Here are 10 interview questions divided into easy, medium, and hard categories, that can help you assess the candidate’s proficiency with PHP.

5 Easy PHP Interview Questions

1. What are the basic data types in PHP?
   PHP supports several data types, including string, integer, float, boolean, and null.
2. What are the differences between single quotes and double quotes in PHP?
   In PHP, single quotes and double quotes are used to represent a string. Single quotes are faster and interpreted literally. Double quotes are interpreted for variables and escape sequences.
3. What are some of PHP’s unique string functions?
   PHP has several unique string functions, including “substr”, which is used to extract a substring from a larger string, and “str_replace”, which replaces all occurrences of a string within another string.
4. What is an associative array in PHP, and how does it work?
   In PHP, an associative array is an array with named keys instead of numeric indices. It allows developers to store data in a way that’s more easily readable and organized. Associative arrays can be used to store data such as user information or database queries.
5. What is a multidimensional array in PHP, and how does it work?
   A multidimensional array is an array that contains other arrays as its elements. It allows developers to store data in a hierarchical structure, such as a table or grid. Multidimensional arrays can be used to store data such as survey results or product categories.

… 3 Medium Difficulty PHP Interview Questions …

6. What is a closure in PHP, and how is it used?
   A closure, also known as an anonymous function, is a function without a specified name. It can be assigned to variables or used as parameters in other functions. Closures are useful for creating callbacks and handling events.
7. What is a session in PHP, and how is it used?
   A session in PHP is used to store user data on the server between requests. It’s useful for maintaining user state, such as login information or shopping cart items, across multiple pages of a website. Sessions are unique to each user and can be used to store data securely.
8. What is a namespace in PHP, and how is it used? A namespace is used to group related classes, functions, and constants under a common name. It is helpful in avoiding naming collisions in large projects or when using third-party libraries.

… And Finally, 2 Hard PHP Interview Questions

9. What are traits in PHP, and how are they used?
   Traits in PHP are a mechanism used to reuse code in multiple classes. They allow developers to define a set of methods that can be included in a class. Traits are useful for sharing functionality between multiple classes without using inheritance.
10. What is the difference between abstract classes and interfaces in PHP?
    Abstract classes and interfaces are used to define a set of methods that must be implemented by subclasses. The main difference is that an abstract class can have both abstract and non-abstract methods, while an interface can only have abstract methods.

Final Words

PHP is a powerful language used for web development. When hiring a PHP developer, it’s important to evaluate their knowledge and experience with the language. The questions we’ve discussed in this article provide a good starting point for assessing a candidate’s proficiency with PHP.

By asking about the differences between variables, arrays, and other data types, you can gauge a candidate’s understanding of the basics. These topics are crucial for building solid, secure, and efficient web applications.

The medium-level questions about closures, sessions, and namespaces” demonstrate the candidate’s knowledge of more advanced features of PHP. They also show the candidate’s experience in building and maintaining larger-scale projects.

Finally, the hard-level questions about traits and abstract classes versus interfaces highlight the candidate’s expertise in PHP’s unique features. These questions demonstrate the candidate’s experience in working with PHP and their ability to write efficient and reusable code.