Do you have experience writing and working with native SQL queries or similar low-level commands to a database?

Yes, experience with native SQL queries is important for flexible and efficient interaction with the database. Native queries allow:

• Performing complex selections and operations that are not always convenient or possible to implement through ORM.
• Optimizing performance by precise control over queries.
• Using database-specific functions and features.

Example of a native SQL query in PHP using PDO:

$sql = "SELECT * FROM users WHERE status = :status";
$stmt = $pdo->prepare($sql);
$stmt->execute(['status' => 'active']);
$users = $stmt->fetchAll(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);

It is always important to use prepared statements to protect against SQL injection.