What will be the value of the variable $a after executing the following code? $a = 1; ++$a; $a *= $a; echo $a--;

To determine the value of the variable ( a ) after executing the provided code, let's break down each step of the code execution:

1. The initial assignment ( a = 1 ) sets the variable ( a ) to 1.

2. The next operation is ( ++$a ). This pre-increment operator increases the value of ( a ) by 1 before it is used in subsequent operations. So, ( a ) becomes 2.

3. The operation ( $a *= $a ) is equivalent to ( $a = $a \times $a ). At this point, ( a ) is 2, so the operation becomes ( a = 2 \times 2 ). Hence, ( a ) is updated to 4.

4. Finally, the expression ( echo $a-- ) outputs the current value of ( a ), which is 4, and then decreases ( a ) by 1 after the value has been echoed. Therefore, the value of ( a ) after this line executes will be 3, but the echoed value is 4.

Now, the final value of ( a ) after all operations (considering the decrement