PH P Interview Questions An D An SW Ers: What's PHP ?
PH P Interview Questions An D An SW Ers: What's PHP ?
What's PHP ?
The PHP Hypertext Preprocessor is a programming language that allows web
developers to create dynamic content that interacts with databases. PHP is
basically used for developing web based software applications.
What Is a Session?
A session is a logical object created by the PHP engine to allow you to preserve data
across subsequent HTTP requests.
There is only one session object available to your PHP scripts at any time. Data
saved to the session by a script can be retrieved by the same script or another
script when requested from the same visitor.
Sessions are commonly used to store temporary data to allow multiple PHP pages to
offer a complete functional transaction for the same visitor.
Answer2:
PEAR is short for "PHP Extension and Application Repository" and is pronounced
just like the fruit. The purpose of PEAR is to provide:
A structured library of open-sourced code for PHP users
A system for code distribution and package maintenance
A standard style for code written in PHP
The PHP Foundation Classes (PFC),
The PHP Extension Community Library (PECL),
A web site, mailing lists and download mirrors to support the PHP/PEAR
community
PEAR is a community-driven project with the PEAR Group as the governing body.
The project has been founded by Stig S. Bakken in 1999 and quite a lot of people
have joined the project since then.
How can we know the number of days between two given dates using PHP?
Simple arithmetic:
$date1 = date('Y-m-d');
$date2 = '2006-07-01';
$days = (strtotime() - strtotime()) / (60 * 60 * 24);
echo "Number of days since '2006-07-01': $days";
How can we repair a MySQL table?
is equivalent to
$holder = 'user';
$$holder = 'bob';
Anwser 2:
They are both variables. But $message is a variable with a fixed name. $$message
is a variable who's name is stored in $message. For example, if $message contains
"var", $$message is the same as $var.
But require() and include() will do it as many times they are asked to do.
Anwser 2:
The include_once() statement includes and evaluates the specified file during the
execution of the script. This is a behavior similar to the include() statement, with
the only difference being that if the code from a file has already been included, it
will not be included again. The major difference between include() and require() is
that in failure include() produces a warning message whereas require() produces a
fatal errors.
Anwser 3:
All three are used to an include file into the current page.
If the file is not present, require(), calls a fatal error, while in include() does not.
The include_once() statement includes and evaluates the specified file during the
execution of the script. This is a behavior similar to the include() statement, with
the only difference being that if the code from a file has already been included, it
will not be included again. It des not call a fatal error if file not exists.
require_once() does the same as include_once(), but it calls a fatal error if file not
exists.
Anwser 4:
File will not be included more than once. If we want to include a file once only and
further calling of the file will be ignored then we have to use the PHP function
include_once(). This will prevent problems with function redefinitions, variable
value reassignments, etc.
Anwser 2:
string urlencode(str) - Returns the URL encoded version of the input string. String
values to be used in URL query string need to be URL encoded. In the URL encoded
version:
For example:
$discount ="10.00%";
$url = "http://domain.com/submit.php?disc=".urlencode($discount);
echo $url;
Once the Web server received the uploaded file, it will call the PHP script specified
in the form action attribute to process them. This receiving PHP script can get the
uploaded file information through the predefined array called $_FILES. Uploaded
file information is organized in $_FILES as a two-dimensional array as:
$_FILES[$fieldName]['name'] - The Original file name on the browser system.
$_FILES[$fieldName]['type'] - The file type determined by the browser.
$_FILES[$fieldName]['size'] - The Number of bytes of the file content.
$_FILES[$fieldName]['tmp_name'] - The temporary filename of the file in which the
uploaded file was stored on the server.
$_FILES[$fieldName]['error'] - The error code associated with this file upload.
I am trying to assign a variable the value of 0123, but it keeps coming up with a
different number, what’s the problem?
PHP Interpreter treats numbers beginning with 0 as octal. Look at the similar PHP
interview questions for more numeric problems.
Would I use print "$a dollars" or "{$a} dollars" to print out the amount of
dollars in this example?
In this example it wouldn’t matter, since the variable is all by itself, but if you were
to print something like "{$a},000,000 mln dollars", then you definitely need to use
the braces.
What are the different tables present in MySQL? Which type of table is
generated when we are creating a table in the following syntax: create table
employee(eno int(2),ename varchar(10))?
Total 5 types of tables we can create
1. MyISAM
2. Heap
3. Merge
4. INNO DB
5. ISAM
MyISAM is the default storage engine as of MySQL 3.23. When you fire the above
create query MySQL will create a MyISAM table.
<?php
include "mysql_connection.php";
mysql_close($con);
?>
Answer2
You can use the MySQL PASSWORD() function to encrypt username and password.
For example,
INSERT into user (password, ...) VALUES (PASSWORD($password”)), ...);
When are you supposed to use endif to end the conditional statement?
When the original if was followed by : and then the code block without braces.
But you can use JavaScript to execute a client side email program send the email
using the "mailto" code. Here is an example:
function myfunction(form)
{
tdata=document.myform.tbox1.value;
location="mailto:[email protected]?subject=...";
return true;
}
What is the purpose of the following files having extensions: frm, myd, and
myi? What these files contain?
In MySQL, the default table type is MyISAM.
Each MyISAM table is stored on disk in three files. The files have names that begin
with the table name and have an extension to indicate the file type.
<?php
print("<html>");
print("<p>Please click the links below"
." to submit comments about TECHPreparation.com:</p>");
$comment = 'I want to say: "It\'s a good site! :->"';
$comment = urlencode($comment);
print("<p>"
."<a href=\"processing_forms.php?name=Guest&comment=$comment\">"
."It's an excellent site!</a></p>");
$comment = 'This visitor said: "It\'s an average site! :-("';
$comment = urlencode($comment);
print("<p>"
.'<a href="processing_forms.php?'.$comment.'">'
."It's an average site.</a></p>");
print("</html>");
?>
What are the differences between DROP a table and TRUNCATE a table?
DROP TABLE table_name - This will delete the table and its data.
TRUNCATE TABLE table_name - This will delete the data of the table, but not the
table definition.
1. Notices: These are trivial, non-critical errors that PHP encounters while executing
a script - for example, accessing a variable that has not yet been defined. By
default, such errors are not displayed to the user at all - although you can change
this default behavior.
2. Warnings: These are more serious errors - for example, attempting to include() a
file which does not exist. By default, these errors are displayed to the user, but they
do not result in script termination.
3. Fatal errors: These are critical errors - for example, instantiating an object of a
non-existent class, or calling a non-existent function. These errors cause the
immediate termination of the script, and PHP's default behavior is to display them
to the user when they take place.
Internally, these variations are represented by twelve different error types
$_SESSION['var'] = 'value';
How many ways we can retrieve the date in result set of mysql using php?
As individual objects so single record or as a set or arrays.
For printing out strings, there are echo, print and printf. Explain the
differences.
echo is the most primitive of them, and just outputs the contents following the
construct to the screen. print is also a construct (so parentheses are optional when
calling it), but it returns TRUE on successful output and FALSE if it was unable to
print out the string. However, you can pass multiple parameters to echo, like:
Note that the second index of $output, $output[1], gives the match, not the first
one, $output[0].
So if md5() generates the most secure hash, why would you ever use the less
secure crc32() and sha1()?
Crypto usage in PHP is simple, but that doesn’t mean it’s free. First off, depending
on the data that you’re encrypting, you might have reasons to store a 32-bit value
in the database instead of the 160-bit value to save on space. Second, the more
secure the crypto is, the longer is the computation time to deliver the hash value. A
high volume site might be significantly slowed down, if frequent md5() generation is
required.
How can we destroy the session, how can we unset the variable of a session?
session_unregister() - Unregister a global variable from the current session
session_unset() - Free all session variables
What are the different functions in sorting an array?
Sorting functions in PHP:
asort()
arsort()
ksort()
krsort()
uksort()
sort()
natsort()
rsort()
How many ways we can pass the variable through the navigation between the
pages?
At least 3 ways:
1. Put the variable into session in the first page, and get it back from session in the
next page.
2. Put the variable into cookie in the first page, and get it back from the cookie in
the next page.
3. Put the variable into a hidden form field, and get it back from the form in the
next page.
What is the maximum length of a table name, a database name, or a field name
in MySQL?
Database name: 64 characters
Table name: 64 characters
Column name: 64 characters
What are the other commands to know the structure of a table using MySQL
commands except EXPLAIN command?
DESCRIBE table_name;
What’s the difference between md5(), crc32() and sha1() crypto on PHP?
The major difference is the length of the hash generated. CRC32 is, evidently, 32
bits, while sha1() returns a 128 bit value, and md5() returns a 160 bit value. This is
important when avoiding collisions.
How can we find the number of rows in a result set using PHP?
Here is how can you find the number of rows in a result set in PHP:
How many ways we can we find the current date using MySQL?
SELECT CURDATE();
SELECT CURRENT_DATE();
SELECT CURTIME();
SELECT CURRENT_TIME();
We can grant rights on all database by using h *.* or some specific database by
database.* or a specific table by database.table_name.
We can grant rights on all database by using *.* or some specific database by
database.* or a specific table by database.table_name.
VARCHAR is a variable length data type. VARCHAR(n) will take only the required
storage for the actual number of characters entered to that column. For example,
"Hello!" will be stored as "Hello!" in VARCHAR(10) column.
How can we encrypt and decrypt a data present in a mysql table using mysql?
AES_ENCRYPT() and AES_DECRYPT()
Will comparison of string "10" and integer 11 work in PHP?
Yes, internally PHP will cast everything to the integer type, so numbers 10 and 11
will be compared.
How can we know the number of days between two given dates using MySQL?
Use DATEDIFF()
SELECT DATEDIFF(NOW(),'2006-07-01');
Answer 2:
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions.
WWW's ability to recognize and handle files of different types is largely dependent
on the use of the MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) standard. The
standard provides for a system of registration of file types with information about
the applications needed to process them. This information is incorporated into Web
server and browser software, and enables the automatic recognition and display of
registered file types. …
Answer 2:
The difference between mysql_fetch_row() and mysql_fetch_array() is that the first
returns the results in a numeric array ($row[0], $row[1], etc.), while the latter
returns a the results an array containing both numeric and associative keys
($row['name'], $row['email'], etc.). mysql_fetch_object() returns an object ($row-
>name, $row->email, etc.).
If we login more than one browser windows at the same time with same user
and after that we close one window, then is the session is exist to other
windows or not? And if yes then why? If no then why?
Session depends on browser. If browser is closed then session is lost. The session
data will be deleted after session time out. If connection is lost and you recreate
connection, then session will continue in the browser.
mysql_fetch_row() - Fetches one row of data from the result associated with the
specified result identifier. The row is returned as an array. Each result column is
stored in an array offset, starting at offset 0.
output:
god bless<br>
you
How can we encrypt and decrypt a data presented in a table using MySQL?
You can use functions: AES_ENCRYPT() and AES_DECRYPT() like:
AES_ENCRYPT(str, key_str)
AES_DECRYPT(crypt_str, key_str)
How can I retrieve values from one database server and store them in other
database server using PHP?
For this purpose, you can first read the data from one server into session variables.
Then connect to other server and simply insert the data into the database.
Who is the father of PHP and what is the current version of PHP and MYSQL?
Rasmus Lerdorf.
PHP 5.1. Beta
MySQL 5.0
In how many ways we can retrieve data in the result set of MYSQL using PHP?
mysql_fetch_array - Fetch a result row as an associative array, a numeric array, or
both
mysql_fetch_assoc - Fetch a result row as an associative array
mysql_fetch_object - Fetch a result row as an object
mysql_fetch_row —- Get a result row as an enumerated array
How can we get the properties (size, type, width, height) of an image using php
image functions?
To know the image size use getimagesize() function
To know the image width use imagesx() function
To know the image height use imagesy() function
When called, set_time_limit() restarts the timeout counter from zero. In other words,
if the timeout is the default 30 seconds, and 25 seconds into script execution a call
such as set_time_limit(20) is made, the script will run for a total of 45 seconds
before timing out.
Answer 2:
To backup: BACKUP TABLE tbl_name TO /path/to/backup/directory
’ To restore: RESTORE TABLE tbl_name FROM /path/to/backup/directory
Answer 2:
Definition and Usage
The isNaN() function is used to check if a value is not a number.
Syntax
isNaN(number)
Parameter Description
number Required. The value to be tested
How many ways can we get the value of current session id?
session_id() returns the session id for the current session.
What are the reasons for selecting LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, Php) instead
of combination of other software programs, servers and operating systems?
All of those are open source resource. Security of Linux is very more than windows.
Apache is a better server that IIS both in functionality and security. Mysql is world
most popular open source database. Php is more faster that asp or any other
scripting language.
How can we get second of the current time using date function?
$second = date("s");
protected:
friend void set_prev(mylinkage* L, mylinkage* N);
void set_next(mylinkage* L);
public:
mylinkage * succ();
mylinkage * pred();
mylinkage();
};
Friend functions allow binary operators to be defined which combine private data in
a pair of objects. This is particularly powerful when using the operator overloading
features of C++. We will return to it when we look at overloading.
How can we get second of the current time using date function?
$second = date("s");
What is the maximum size of a file that can be uploaded using PHP and how
can we change this?
You can change maximum size of a file set upload_max_filesize variable in php.ini
file
How can I make a script that can be bilingual (supports English, German)?
You can change char set variable in above line in the script to support bi language.
Interface: Interfaces are one type of class where all the methods are abstract. That
means all the methods only declared but not defined. All the methods must be
define by its implemented class.
What’s the difference between accessing a class method via -> and via ::?
:: is allowed to access methods that can perform static operations, i.e. those, which
do not require object initialization.
Disadvantages
An extra download is required to import style information for each document The
rendering of the document may be delayed until the external style sheet is loaded
Becomes slightly unwieldy for small quantities of style definitions
Disadvantage
This method can not control styles for multiple documents at once
Inline Styles
Advantages
Useful for small quantities of style definitions Can override other style specification
methods at the local level so only exceptions need to be listed in conjunction with
other style methods
Disadvantages
Does not distance style information from content (a main goal of SGML/HTML) Can
not control styles for multiple documents at once Author can not create or control
classes of elements to control multiple element types within the document Selector
grouping methods can not be used to create complex element addressing scenarios
When you want to show some part of a text displayed on an HTML page in red
font color? What different possibilities are there to do this? What are the
advantages/disadvantages of these methods?
There are 2 ways to show some part of a text in red:
When viewing an HTML page in a Browser, the Browser often keeps this page
in its cache. What can be possible advantages/disadvantages of page
caching? How can you prevent caching of a certain page (please give several
alternate solutions)?
When you use the metatag in the header section at the beginning of an HTML Web
page, the Web page may still be cached in the Temporary Internet Files folder.
A page that Internet Explorer is browsing is not cached until half of the 64 KB
buffer is filled. Usually, metatags are inserted in the header section of an HTML
document, which appears at the beginning of the document. When the HTML code
is parsed, it is read from top to bottom. When the metatag is read, Internet Explorer
looks for the existence of the page in cache at that exact moment. If it is there, it is
removed. To properly prevent the Web page from appearing in the cache, place
another header section at the end of the HTML document.
What are the different ways to login to a remote server? Explain the means,
advantages and disadvantages?
There is at least 3 ways to logon to a remote server:
Use ssh or telnet if you concern with security
You can also use rlogin to logon to a remote server.
Parameters:
What is the default session time in php and how can I change it?
The default session time in php is until closing of browser
How can I set a cron and how can I execute it in Unix, Linux, and windows?
Cron is very simply a Linux module that allows you to run commands at
predetermined times or intervals. In Windows, it's called Scheduled Tasks. The
name Cron is in fact derived from the same word from which we get the word
chronology, which means order of time.
The easiest way to use crontab is via the crontab command.
# crontab
This command 'edits' the crontab. Upon employing this command, you will be able
to enter the commands that you wish to run. My version of
Linux uses the text editor vi. You can find information on using vi here.
The syntax of this file is very important – if you get it wrong, your crontab will not
function properly. The syntax of the file should be as follows:
minutes hours day_of_month month day_of_week command
All the variables, with the exception of the command itself, are numerical
constants. In addition to an asterisk (*), which is a wildcard that allows any value,
the ranges permitted for each field are as follows:
Minutes: 0-59
Hours: 0-23
Day_of_month: 1-31
Month: 1-12
Weekday: 0-6
We can also include multiple values for each entry, simply by separating each value
with a comma.
command can be any shell command and, as we will see momentarily, can also be
used to execute a Web document such as a PHP file.
So, if we want to run a script every Tuesday morning at 8:15 AM, our mycronjob file
will contain the following content on a single line:
15 8 * * 2 /path/to/scriptname
This all seems simple enough, right? Not so fast! If you try to run a PHP script in
this manner, nothing will happen (barring very special configurations that have
PHP compiled as an executable, as opposed to an Apache module). The reason is
that, in order for PHP to be parsed, it needs to be passed through Apache. In other
words, the page needs to be called via a browser or other means of retrieving
Web content. For our purposes, I'll assume that your server configuration includes
wget, as is the case with most default configurations. To test your configuration, log
in to shell. If you're using an RPM-based system (e.g. Redhat or Mandrake), type
the following:
# wget help
If you are greeted with a wget package identification, it is installed in your system.
You could execute the PHP by invoking wget on the URL to the page, like so:
# wget http://www.example.com/file.php
Now, let's go back to the mailstock.php file we created in the first part of this
article. We saved it in our document root, so it should be accessible via the
Internet. Remember that we wanted it to run at 4PM Eastern time, and send you
your precious closing bell report? Since I'm located in the Eastern timezone, we can
go ahead and set up our crontab to use 4:00, but if you live elsewhere, you might
have to compensate for the time difference when setting this value.
This is what my crontab will look like:
What type of headers have to be added in the mail function to attach a file?
$boundary = '--' . md5( uniqid ( rand() ) );
$headers = "From: \"Me\"\n";
$headers .= "MIME-Version: 1.0\n";
$headers .= "Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary=\"$boundary\"";
Return-path: Return path is when there is a mail delivery failure occurs then where
to delivery the failure notification.
This function checks to ensure that the file designated by filename is a valid upload
file (meaning that it was uploaded via PHP's HTTP POST upload mechanism). If the
file is valid, it will be moved to the filename given by destination.
If filename is not a valid upload file, then no action will occur, and
move_uploaded_file() will return FALSE.
If filename is a valid upload file, but cannot be moved for some reason, no action
will occur, and move_uploaded_file() will return FALSE. Additionally, a warning will
be issued.
An example of PHP's automatic type conversion is the addition operator '+'. If any of
the operands is a float, then all operands are evaluated as floats, and the result will
be a float. Otherwise, the operands will be interpreted as integers, and the result
will also be an integer. Note that this does NOT change the types of the operands
themselves; the only change is in how the operands are evaluated.
If the last two examples above seem odd, see String conversion to numbers.
If you wish to change the type of a variable, see settype().
If you would like to test any of the examples in this section, you can use the
var_dump() function.
Note: The behavior of an automatic conversion to array is currently undefined.
Since PHP (for historical reasons) supports indexing into strings via offsets using
the same syntax as array indexing, the example above leads to a problem: should
$a become an array with its first element being "f", or should "f" become the first
character of the string $a? The current versions of PHP interpret the second
assignment as a string offset identification, so $a becomes "f", the result of this
automatic conversion however should be considered undefined. PHP 4 introduced
the new curly bracket syntax to access characters in string, use this syntax instead
of the one presented above:
How can I embed a java programme in php file and what changes have to be
done in php.ini file?
There are two possible ways to bridge PHP and Java: you can either integrate PHP
into a Java Servlet environment, which is the more stable and efficient solution, or
integrate Java support into PHP. The former is provided by a SAPI module that
interfaces with the Servlet server, the latter by this Java extension.
The Java extension provides a simple and effective means for creating and invoking
methods on Java objects from PHP. The JVM is created using JNI, and everything
runs in-process.
Example Code:
How many ways can we get the value of current session id?
session_id() returns the session id for the current session.