PHP 7 Zend Certification Study Guide: Ace the ZCE 2017-PHP Exam

Introduction. The Zend Certification Syllabus
A basic introduction to the latest syllabus of the ZCE2017 exam and analyze the topics of the exam. IT will also talk about choosing the correct strategy.
1. Syntax
The chapter takes a look at the general syntax used in PHP programming.

Inserting PHP into web pages
Language Constructs
Comments
Representing numbersVariables
Operators
Control Structures
ErrorsConfiguration
Performance

2. Functions

Functions are packages of code that can be used to execute a sequence of instructions. Any valid code can be used inside a function, including calls to other functions and classes. Topics covered here are:

Arguments
References
Variable Functions
Returns
Variable Scope
Callables, Lambdas, and closures

3. Strings and PatternsThey are a series of bytes and do not contain any information about how those bytes should be translated to characters. Topics covered:

Declaring Strings
Referencing characters in strings
PHP and multibyte strings
Matching Strings
Extracting strings
Searching Strings
Replacing strings
Formatting Strings
Formatting Numbers
String Patterns - Regular Expressions

4. Arrays

Here we will take a look at a number of array functions offered in PHP. Topics covered will be:
Declaring and referencing arrays
Array Operators
Quirks of PHP array keys
Filling up arrays
Push, pop, shift, and unshift
Comparing Arrays
Combining Arrays
Iterating through arrays
Sorting Arrays

5. Object Orientated PHP

Object Orientated code runs slower than procedural code but makes it easier to model and manipulate complex data structures. Topics will be:

Declaring Classes and Instantiating Objects
Visibility or Access Modifiers
Instance Properties and Methods
Static Methods and Properties
Working with Objects
Constructors and Destructors
Inheritance
Interfaces
Exceptions
Reflection
Type Hinting
Class Constants
Late Static Binding
Magic (__*) MethodsStandard PHP Library (SPL)
Generators
Traits

6. Security

This is one of the key topics of the exam. The chapter will provide you a strategy to take up for securing your applications and servers.
Configuration
Session Security
Cross-Site Scripting
Cross-Site Request Forgeries
SQL Injection
Remote Code Injection
Email Injection
Filter Input
Escape Output
Encryption, Hashing algorithms
File uploads
Database storage
Avoid publishing your password online

7. Data Formats and Types
The chapter takes a look at the various data formats used with PHP applications. Though questions on this topic are rare, you can expect to be asked a couple of fairly detailed questions from this section.
XML
SOAP
REST web services
JSON
Date and Time

8. Input-Output

PHP 7.1streams as a way of generalizing file, network, data compression, and other operations that share a set of common set of functions and uses.

Files
File System Functions
Streams

9. Web Features

This chapter will teach you the web features of PHP. Topics covered will be:
Sessions
Starting a Session
Session Identifier and Session Variables
Logging a User Out
Session Handlers
GET and POST data
Encoding data into URLs
File Uploads
Forms
Form elementsCookies
HTTP Headers
HTTP Authentication
HTTP Status Codes

10. Databases and SQL

PHP uses extensions to interact with a range of databases. This chapter will shed some light on the same. Topics are:

Introduction to Databases
Working with SQL
Joins
Prepared Statements
Transactions

11. Error Handling
12. Exercises

Appendix A. Quiz Answers