PHP Syntax Building Blocks Quiz

During a code review for a shared hosting client, which opening tag keeps templates portable on servers that may disable short tags by default?

While inspecting a marketing partial, what will this snippet render between the section tags when processed?

<section>
  <?php echo "Stage "; ?>
  <?= 1 + 2 ?>
</section>

A teammate saved a pure PHP configuration file without a closing ?> tag. Why is omitting the closing tag actually recommended for such files?

A parse error appears in a quick CLI test using this snippet. What is the root cause?

<?php
$greeting = "Hi"
echo $greeting;
?>

When onboarding interns, how do you describe the role of semicolons in PHP source files?

You compare how single and double quotes treat variables. What output does this snippet produce with $name = "Mina"?

<?php
$name = "Mina";
echo "Hi $name";
echo ' | Hi $name';
?>

While building a logging message, why would you wrap an interpolated array element like {$data["id"]} inside braces within a double-quoted string?

A teammate experimented with variable variables. What does this snippet echo?

<?php
$label = 'mode';
$mode = 'cli';
echo $$label;
?>

When coaching juniors on naming rules, which identifier is valid for a PHP variable receiving form data?

A quick experiment in interactive mode uses this snippet. What does var_dump display?

<?php
$value = '5' + 3;
var_dump($value);
?>

You enable declare(strict_types=1) at the top of an API entry file. What behavior does this enforce for subsequent function calls?

During debugging, what output does this comparison snippet produce?

<?php
var_dump('0' == false);
var_dump('0' === false);
?>

When a reviewer flags == in a security-sensitive comparison, what is the recommended approach?

A teammate wraps multi-line copy in a heredoc. What does this snippet echo when $batch equals 7?

<?php
$batch = 7;
$message = <<<CARD
Batch $batch ships tonight.
CARD;
echo $message;
?>

When composing deployment notes, why might you prefer nowdoc syntax over heredoc?

An onboarding exercise adds items to a list. What does this snippet output?

<?php
$colors = ['red', 'green'];
$colors[] = 'blue';
echo count($colors);
?>

Why do modern codebases prefer [] over array() when creating arrays in new files?

A product page loops through badges. What does this snippet echo?

<?php
$badges = ['new', 'eco'];
foreach ($badges as $index => $label) {
    echo "#{$index}:{$label} ";
}
?>

When comparing include and require within a bootstrap file, what is the key behavioral difference if a file is missing?

A utility module returns configuration data. What does this snippet output if config.php contains "<?php return 'ready';"?

<?php
$status = include __DIR__ . '/config.php';
echo $status;
?>

Designers prefer alternative syntax in templates. When is the colon/endif form especially helpful?

Given this snippet inside a layout, which lines are rendered when $active equals true?

<?php if ($active): ?>
<p>Promo on</p>
<?php else: ?>
<p>Promo off</p>
<?php endif; ?>

When adding quick reminders in a script, which comment style cleanly documents a single line without affecting nested HTML?

This multi-line comment hides part of a calculation. What does the script echo?

<?php
$total = 10;
/* $total += 5; */
$total += 2;
echo $total;
?>

A style guide mentions that PHP largely ignores extra whitespace. Why do teams still align operators and indent consistently?

A teammate wonders about case sensitivity. Which statement accurately describes PHP behavior?

While reviewing constants, what best practice keeps names predictable when using define()?

What does this constant snippet output when executed without strict typing changes?

<?php
define('VERSION', '8.3');
echo VERSION;
echo version;
?>

In a modular codebase, why do developers group related use statements at the top of a file?

A feature branch introduces a namespace declaration. Where should the namespace statement appear within a PHP file?

Product managers asked why match expressions were adopted. Compared to switch, what structural improvement do they provide?

A helper uses match to translate modes. What does the snippet output when $mode equals "api"?

<?php
$mode = 'api';
echo match ($mode) {
    'cli' => 'Command line',
    'api' => 'Service call',
    default => 'Unknown'
};
?>

While preparing defensive code, when does the null coalescing operator (??) shine?

A library defines function logEvent(string $message, string ...$tags). What does the ellipsis communicate to callers?

When mixing HTML markup with embedded PHP, what structural habit keeps templates predictable for future editors?