Author: harsha satyakam

Cracking advanced level PHP Interviews in 2022

Posted on by harsha satyakam

PHP is one of the most widely used open-source general-purpose scripting languages that many companies use as their backend tech stack. Facebook is the most notable company using PHP. Demand for PHP developers remains high, and almost 79% of the top websites in the world use PHP as the server-side scripting language.

The number of PHP developers is growing at a fast pace and soon, it is likely that India will become the top source of PHP developers. It also implies that the competition for jobs will be stiff. Apart from your technical skills, you will also be required to have soft skills like communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills. We already have great resources on essential soft skills for software developers; you can check them out here:

Soft skills that still impress employers in 2022

Most valuable soft skills of exceptional software engineers

As far as the other skills are concerned, we will guide you through everything you need to know about a career in PHP development.

Career prospects: Demand, Job Openings, and Salary 

PHP developers are some of the most in-demand professionals in the IT industry. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for web developers will increase by 13% between 2020 and 2030. Therefore, the job outlook for PHP developers is quite promising.

There are 15,580 job openings for PHP developers on Naukri.com, followed by 12,000+ active listings for PHP developers on Indeed and over 8000 requirements for the same role on LinkedIn. The demand for experienced PHP developers is high at companies like Accenture, Tech Mahindra, and Wipro.

According to the salary analytics platform Payscale.com, the average salary for experienced PHP developers in India is INR 6,20,000. The earning potential of PHP developers is often dictated by the company they work at and the experience they possess. Most senior PHP developers earn over INR 9,00,000 per year.

What all do PHP interviews involve?

Generally speaking, PHP developers need to demonstrate competence with the job’s technical aspects that demand a unique skill set.

During an interview, your ability to write clean object-oriented PHP code is tested. Experienced developers must also be efficient with SQL. 

Candidates must be able to evaluate, design, develop and assist application systems. They need to have command over one or more JavaScript frameworks such as Angular, Vue, and NodeJS. We recommend PHP developers hone their skills in Angular as PHP developers with experience in Angular earn 23% more.

You can check out our comprehensive Angular Developer Toolkit which has all the resources required to become a successful Angular Developer.

Also, companies expect PHP developers to be skilled in Laravel, the most popular model-view-controller (MVC) framework built with PHP.

Important Interview Questions and Answers

What will this code output, and why?
$x = true and false;
var_dump($x);

The output of the above code will be bool(true). It is because the AND operator is behaving as an OR. The = operator takes precedence over the AND operator in the code snippet. This results in the statement $x = true and false being functionally equivalent to:

$x = true; // sets $x equal to true
true and false; // results in false without affecting anything

This code is an excellent example of why parentheses are used to specify the intent in a court.

What is the difference between == and ===?

The operator == is used between two different types of values.
The === operator is for a ‘typesafe comparison.’ It returns true only when the operands have the same type and the same value.

Can you explain the output value of $x in the following statement:
$x = 3 + “15%” + “$25”?

The output value will be 18.

PHP supports automatic type conversion. It implies that a variable is changed based on its context. For instance, if you perform an arithmetic operation on a string, then PHP will convert the string to its appropriate numeric type for calculation. If the string starts with one or more numeric characters, then the remainder of the string is ignored. And if the string begins with a non-numeric character, it will be evaluated to 0.

In the above statement, “15%” evaluates to the numeric value 15 and “$25” evaluates to the numeric value 0. Hence, 3 + 15 + 0 = 18.

What is PEAR in PHP?

PHP Extension and Application Repository or PEAR is a framework and repository for reusable PHP components. It is a collection of many PHP code snippets and libraries and supports CLI or command-line interface to install packages automatically.

What does the following code print?

$a = “PHP”;
$a = $a + 1;
echo $a;

The code will echo the number 1.

However, in PHP 7.2 record will throw a warning as the version of PHP will not convert the non-numeric value to int. 

What are Traits?

PHP does not support multiple inheritances. Traits are a mechanism to provide some of the reuse advantages of multiple inheritances in PHP. Developers can use traits to reuse combinations of methods from different class hierarchies.

How does JavaScript interact with PHP?

PHP is a server-side scripting language, while JavaScript is a client-side programming language. PHP can generate JavaScript variables, making it possible to execute the code in a browser efficiently. It makes it possible to pass JS variables to PHP using a simple URL. 

Here is an erroneous code- 

$referenceTable = array();
$referenceTable[‘val1’] = array(1, 2);
$referenceTable[‘val2’] = 3;
$referenceTable[‘val3’] = array(4, 5);

$testArray = array();

$testArray = array_merge($testArray, $referenceTable[‘val1’]);
var_dump($testArray);
$testArray = array_merge($testArray, $referenceTable[‘val2’]);
var_dump($testArray);
$testArray = array_merge($testArray, $referenceTable[‘val3’]);
var_dump($testArray);

Explain what is wrong with this code and what the output will be.
Also, how will you fix the error?

The output of this code snipped will be:
array(2) { [0]=> int(1) [1]=> int(2) }
NULL
NULL
It can also generate two warnings, similar to the following:
Warning: array_merge(): Argument #2 is not an array
Warning: array_merge(): Argument #1 is not an array

The issue with the code here is that if either of the first or second arguments to array_merge() is not an array, the return value will be NULL.
Most developers miss this because it is not well described in the PHP documentation.

This is why the call to: 

$testArray = array_merge($testArray, $referenceTable[‘val2’])
evaluates to $testArray = array_merge($testArray, 3). However, 3 is not of type array, as a result this call returns NULL. This in turn sets $testArray equal to NULL. In the next call to array_merge(), $testArray is NULL so array_merge() again returns NULL.

The fix here is relatively straightforward. We can simply typecast the second argument to an array to get the desired results. 

Here’s the corrected code:

$testArray = array_merge($testArray, (array)$referenceTable[‘val1’]);
var_dump($testArray);
$testArray = array_merge($testArray, (array)$referenceTable[‘val2’]);
var_dump($testArray);
$testArray = array_merge($testArray, (array)$referenceTable[‘val3’]);
var_dump($testArray);

The final output of the code will be: 

array(2) { [0]=> int(1) [1]=> int(2) }
array(3) { [0]=> int(1) [1]=> int(2) [2]=> int(3) }
array(5) { [0]=> int(1) [1]=> int(2) [2]=> int(3) [3]=> int(4) [4]=> int(5) }

Free Online Assessments

PHP developers can utilize the following resources to sharpen their concepts and understanding of tools to crack advanced-level PHP interviews easily.

TutorialPoint PHP Test

Multisoft Systems PHP Assessment Test

Testdome PHP Assessment Course  

Conclusion 

PHP developers will remain high in demand as the language evolves to accommodate the changing requirements of web development. We hope this guide will serve as a complete resource to prepare for advanced-level PHP interviews.

Talent500 has a pool of competent Indian developers. Sign up today and become ready for career-redefining opportunities at fast-growing startups and Fortune500 companies.

Java v/s Python: Key differences

Posted on by harsha satyakam

Programming is the pinnacle of technology, and every company invests in software solutions. There has been no better time to become a developer, but which programming language to choose? Java and Python are popular programming languages with a wide range of applications. While Java is the faster language between the two, it can be challenging to learn for a beginner. Python’s simple learning advantage is shadowed by its slow performance.

Each programming language is well-established, platform-independent, and has a large supportive community. However, the similarities end here, and each language has its different use. This article covers the Python versus Java differences in detail. Let’s take a closer look at each language’s pros, cons, and scope.

Java: Introduction

Java has been around since 1995 and is one of the most popular programming languages for enterprise software development. As a general-purpose, object-oriented programming language, Java is compiled, unlike Python, which is why it’s faster.

Java code gets directly converted into machine code without needing a compiler, making it quick and efficient. It also gives better control over hardware aspects like CPU usage. For years, Java has been widely used for big data, web development, and android app development, but now it is also gaining traction in the cloud and the Internet of Things development. NASA, Google, and Facebook are some companies that build their products using Java.

Python: Introduction 

Guido van Rossum created Python in 1991. His focus was on creating a more readable programming language. This simplicity of learning is one of the driving forces behind the popularity of Python. Due to its more concise syntax, it is easier to code and test programs in Python than in Java. It supports a variety of programming styles giving developers the freedom to follow their own choice. This is why Python is suitable not only for object-oriented programming but also for reflective and functional programming.

Python is highly popular among backend and app developers and is the preferred choice for data science and machine learning applications. The availability of extensive libraries like Scikit-learn and Pandas is why it is used in some of the most significant applications such as Google Search and YouTube.

Key Differences between Java and Python 

1. Speed

Speed and efficiency are the two biggest reasons to use Java for application development. As many of the processes of Java run automatically, you don’t have to micromanage how everything works. It is a high-level language and uses automatic memory allocation.

Because of its dynamically typed and interpreted nature, Python executes the code line by line, making it slow. The extra work this programming language does when running code makes it less suitable for applications requiring speed and performance.

2. Versatility 

It is challenging to match Python’s versatility for Java. Java indeed finds more adoption for enterprise application development, but Python offers so much flexibility that it encourages open experimentation. Programmers love Python because it allows them the freedom to build more versatile applications. Python is the most suitable language for you if you want to do many things without worrying about speed. According to Computer Weekly, “Although there might be a better solution for any given problem, Python will always get the job done well.”

3. Syntax

Java is a strictly typed language. Developers have to explicitly declare variable types, which is not easy for beginners. The statically typed nature of Java makes it difficult to learn. Here is an example of Java code syntax:

public class Fruit {

 String name;

 String color;

 public Fruit(String name, String color){

 this.color=color;

 this.name=name;

 }

 public void myfunction()

 {

 System.out.println(“Hello I’m a :” +name);

 }

 public void mycolor()

 {

 System.out.println(“Hello my color is:” + color);

 }

On the other hand, Python is a dynamically typed language that does not require explicitly declaring variables. The variables are interpreted at the run time. This freedom makes Python syntax more like the English language. Here is the example of Python syntax for the same class we defined above in Java:

class Fruit:

 def_init_(mysillyobject, name, color);

 mysillyobject.name=name

 mysillyobject.color=color

 def myfunction(abc) :

 print(“hello I’m a “+ abc.name)

 def mycolor(abc) :

 print(“hello my Color is ” + abc.color)

p1 = Fruit (“Apple”, “red”)

p1.myfunction()

Conclusion 

Java and Python are capable and popular programming languages. Whichever programming language you choose, there are enough tools and community support available to help you along your journey.

As a beginner, your focus should be on learning and building things as soon as possible. For this, Python is the most suitable programming language because of its easy-to-follow syntax and availability of extensive libraries. However, if your end goal is to build enterprise-level applications, Java offers scalability, security, and speed.

Are you a Python or Java developer looking for career-redefining job opportunities? Talent500 is a remote team-building platform for start-ups and Fortune 500 companies. Join our elite pool of talent and get discovered by the best employers. Sign up here.

 

Good coding practices for backend developers

Posted on by harsha satyakam

Backend development is often not appreciated as much as the front end for apparent reasons. When the technology empowering those immersive UI/UX designs is hiding from the end-user, it is easy to lose sight of its importance. But the industry understands the complexity involved in writing backend code. There is a lot to handle, from APIs and server optimization to caching and cookies. Amidst all these coding responsibilities, it is easy for backend developers to commit mistakes.

This article lists some good coding practices that backend developers can use to write code efficiently without worrying about bugs or errors.

1. Validate inputs

Once your application is live, a lot will happen. Hackers may penetrate the system, or users can trigger an unintended use case. To avoid these issues, you must implement rules to validate inputs. This will ensure that only valid inputs are going to the downstream systems.

There are two best coding practices to validate the inputs. First, API gateways can be used for validation. The validation of inputs at the API gateway level is a more generic type that uses policies like schema and format to validate the information. Second, microservice level validation can be implemented to check the entries. There are many open-source libraries available that you can import into your project for microservice-level validations. Joi validator is one package you can use to ease input validation.

2. Handle errors carefully 

No error must be left unattended as it further complicates debugging. After validating the inputs, the discovered errors must be appropriately handled. The microservices/mesh architecture errors must be handled correctly because many services are interconnected here. If one service crashed due to a mistake, it could send ripple effects across, affecting the whole system. It will be a whole lot of trouble to handle errors at a system level.

Many backend developers use a combination of methods to handle errors that can cause a system-level impact. For instance, Circuit Breaker is one way to prevent repeated invocation of services that are most likely to fail and cause a ripple effect. Here is an example of how you can implement Circuit Breaker in NodeJS and Spring Cloud. Another way is to use error codes to handle exceptions. This approach will ensure that the code returns a response code without crashing the service. Most enterprise-level services handle API errors with HTTP codes to facilitate troubleshooting.

3. Separation of concerns

Separation of concerns is one of the essential elements of software architecture. Enterprises use this approach to correctly separate the security concerns and improve the maintainability of the code. Backend developers can make their code modular with this approach. It is a coding practice that will make your code readable to other developers making it easier for other developers to collaborate with you, as they do not have to spend unnecessary time getting up to speed.

There are several ways to structure your code; for instance, the MVC framework is primarily implemented to separate the software’s model, view, and controller layers. The idea is to establish a standard practice for the team to follow to separate concerns. Here are some excellent references on the separation of concerns. You can choose the one that best fits your application.

Separation of concerns is a practice that significantly reduces barriers to entry when it comes to coding and makes it easier to read and learn from. This directly translates into the overall speed and efficiency of product development.

4. Write test cases and documentation

Backend development is complicated, and writing test cases before development helps visualize the end product. This is important because it minimizes subsequent changes that can prolong product development. When you write test cases, you are putting up barriers that detect any downstream impact of the changes you made to the code base before things spiral out of control.

Test-driven backend development is one of the best practices that advocates writing test cases before you start the development. It might take more time, but it’s a recommended approach for critical services because the bottom-top of software development is more efficient than the top-down approach.

Another best practice for backend developers is to document everything they write. When working on a product, it can be enticing to keep writing code for productivity and deploying the project faster without any documentation. However, as the product code grows, in the absence of documentation, developers will have to reach out to each other more frequently to clarify codes. This will eventually slow down the project development and hinder productivity. Backend developers are often tasked with the API documentation. Fortunately, you can use the Postman documentation tool to document your API development.

Conclusion 

The best practices for coding that are listed here might not appear to be effective if you are working on the project single-handedly. However, as more developers join your team, you will understand the importance of these practices rather than implementing these approaches later on in the software development life-cycle.

Talent500 is the best remote team-building platform for Fortune 500 companies and fast-growing startups. Join our platform today.

 

Essential backend developer skills to learn for 2023

Posted on by harsha satyakam

Each development project has two components – frontend and backend. Mostly, end users interact with the front end, but backend infrastructure and components go unappreciated. However, in the software development domain, backend developers are generally better paid. It is because of the complex solutions they build. To be successful as a backend developer, you need to acquire the essential backend development skills that are more relevant today like native-cloud development, and low-code application architecture.

This article will list the essential backend developer skills that will be valuable in 2023.

Let’s get started.

1. Pick the correct backend programming language 

The web development domain is highly dynamic, with new technology introduced frequently. But, instead of getting distracted by the noise, focus on the programming languages with a solid presence. Java, Python, and PHP are three programming languages preferred for backend development.

Java is most widely used for building robust systems. It is a strictly typed programming language that’s scalable and general-purpose. A backend developer must be skilled in Java to build a solid infrastructure. As for PHP, it is the most commonly used server-side scripting language. As an open-source language, it is one of the most cost-effective technologies that most companies want to use for their projects. Python is another essential programming language for backend developers. It is a premier programming language that is simple to learn but robust enough for any complex project.

2. Knowledge of databases 

As proficient as you have to be with the programming languages for backend development, you also need strong database skills. A database is critical for storing data and content in any web application. Your ability to recover, arrange, alter and store information efficiently defines the performance of your application. Any backend developer should have extensive knowledge of various DBMS technologies.

In 2022, the two most commonly used databases are SQL and NoSQL. The SQL database is one in which all data is mapped on a table, and each entry in the table is linked to another entry through recursive methods. While SQL databases are suitable for storing queries and producing results, speed becomes a problem when creating highly scalable applications. The NoSQL database offers the solution as there is no need to structure the data beforehand. Such databases work on JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) and XML (Extensible Markup Language) and are extremely fast.

3. Knowledge of APIs

API stands for Application Programming Interface. It is a medium through which software can communicate and share data. In modern web applications, API plays a crucial role in driving mass adoption as the application can be used for multiple purposes.

Simply put, API is a set of rules and definitions that software, clients, and services follow to communicate with each other over the Internet. The server and client are the two receiving ends, while the API connects them both. For a backend developer, it is essential to understand the HTTP methods of API development. The most commonly used API commands are:

  • GET: to retrieve a resource
  • DELETE: to delete a resource
  • PUT: to replace an existing resource
  • POST: to create a new resource

Most employers expect backend developers to have extensive knowledge of APIs. To connect your backend with other services, you should know how to create an API in various programming languages such as Python, NodeJS, PHP, etc. JSON and XML are the two most recognized formats of API information generation.

4. Server infrastructure knowledge 

Server infrastructure is changing day by day. Today, cloud-native servers are a standard, and businesses no longer want to store and operate their applications through a central location. Since backend developers are working behind the scenes, they must understand various web servers and their technologies. The most commonly used servers are Apache, Nginx, IIS servers, and Microsoft IIS.

Some of the essential backend skills expected from a developer include the ability to manage a hosting environment. As a backend developer, you must be able to scale the applications according to changing demands and configure servers to handle the increased traffic. Accessibility and security compliance related to servers is also essential information. You should know version control among other technologies, such as Git and GitHub.

Another essential skill here is to familiarize yourself with cloud server infrastructures such as AWS, Google Cloud Platform, and Heroku. These leaders in the cloud server market are often used to deploy container-based services such as IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), PaaS, and SaaS (Software as a Service).

Conclusion

Backend developers are in hot demand. To land your dream job in 2022, you must master the above-listed backend skills. Apart from these, you should also have strong computer science skills, such as data structures, algorithms, and programming patterns.

Talent 500 is a global remote team-building platform that Fortune 500 companies and fast-growing start-ups use to recruit backend developers. Join our elite talent pool to get discovered by some of the largest global companies. Sign up here.

 

Best backend frameworks for web development in 2022

Posted on by harsha satyakam

Backend developers are responsible for building the server side of the application. Compared to frontend development, backend development is more demanding in terms of multi-functionality and complexity, yet developing the backend infrastructure for applications is becoming simpler. This is because of the availability of new web development frameworks.

Any development project can be divided into frontend and backend development. With many frameworks available for backend development, which one will you choose? 

This article lists the best backend frameworks for web development in 2022. 

1. Django

For Python developers, one of the best backend frameworks for application development is Django. You can build database-driven, complex, high-performance websites using Django with resource optimization.

Maintaining all the core functionalities of Python, this framework is known to be very scalable for enterprise-level applications. Its code reusability makes it easier for developers to adjust according to the increasing traffic of the website as you can balance the traffic load easily. Another factor that works in favor of Django is its SEO-oriented architecture. Search engine optimization is an essential aspect of web development, and any backend framework should have options to set SEO elements. When you use Django for backend development, you do not have to worry about SEO-friendliness as you can easily maintain Django-based applications via URLs rather than IP addresses.

The Python community is large with over 10 million members, which is why Django has extensive community support. Any backend developer can take a no-code approach, as there are prebuilt packages available that developers can use to integrate functionality in Django. It gives it the versatility to develop database-driven websites with diverse functions.

2. Spring boot 

Java is one of the most widely used backend development programming languages. It is also an essential skill for backend developers. Spring framework is what most Java developers have used for backend development since 2002 when it was first released. Most enterprises prefer building production-grade standalone applications using Spring framework and Spring Boot.

Modern backend development is shifting towards Spring Boot because it significantly minimizes the need for various configurations, unlike Spring framework. It is an excellent backend framework with built-in functionalities like caching, configuration management, transaction management, monitoring, and security. Additional frameworks work with Spring Boot, such as Spring Cloud and Spring Security.

3. Express.js

Express.js is a backend framework that is built on Node.js. You can use this framework for @web and mobile applications if you know JavaScript. However, Express.js is not a no-code platform like other modern backend development frameworks. You need to have good command over the JavaScript development programming language to start building with it.

However, because of its incredible performance, Express.js is used to run the most prominent applications on the internet, such as Uber and MySpace. Express.js comes with prebuilt templates that help you create web pages faster, and it has the most standard functionalities of Node.js. Debugging is much more efficient in Express.js because it can identify the specific part of the code where the bug is located. It shares the scalability of Django, enabling backend developers to expand infrastructure as their application size grows. Furthermore, you can use the same programming language (JavaScript) for backend and frontend development.

If, as a backend developer, you are more comfortable with JavaScript, this is the perfect backend framework for you to start building scalable applications.

4. Laravel

PHP is used more than any other programming language for backend development. Almost 77% of websites use PHP as a server-side scripting language. Any backend developer must know PHP, and to build a backend framework faster, they can use Laravel. 

It’s an open-source backend framework that is designed explicitly for MVC architecture. Most PHP developers use Laravel for symphony-based web application development. There are several reasons to choose this PHP backend framework. Firstly, it offers unmatched security features like the Bcrypt Hashing Algorithm for creating passwords. Second, you can use hundreds of built-in templates to create layouts and content in Laravel. Also, other than PHP, this web development framework supports CSS and JS code. As a PHP developer, if you are looking for a backend framework for complex projects, then you can trust Laravel. However, this framework might be unsuitable for beginners since it’s too complicated to manage for simpler tasks. For instance, for simple form validation, you need to write separate functions.

Conclusion 

The requirements from backend development are increasing, but the availability of modern backend frameworks simplifies the development. All the backend development frameworks listed here offer great functionality and features to build complex applications. Choose the right one depending on the server environment, the programming language of choice, and your understanding of the project requirements.

Talent500 is a widely used remote team-building platform which is helping Fortune 500 companies and fast-growing start-ups recruit tech talent. Sign up here to join the elite pool of backend developers and get discovered by the biggest tech companies.

 

 

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