[johnbrunko]

Old guy in over his head looking for a solid source for PHP tutorials. I'm new to scripting but Tizag feels a little lightweight, is there a tutorial for PHP that compares to Python the Hard Way?.My goal is to create a dynamic PHP/MySQL site.

[macosxnerd101]

We have our PHP Tutorials Section, as well as my thread Getting Better at Programming PHP to help guide you.

[CTphpnwb]

Yes, check out the tutorials.

If you know other languages then PHP should be easy to learn. The biggest stumbling block for beginners is keeping languages straight. PHP runs on the server and it can output HTML, Javascript, CSS, etc. Those are processed by the browser after being sent by the server. This sounds simple, but you'd be amazed at how often we see code that demonstrates the writer has not understood this fact.

[johnbrunko]

CTphpnwb said:

If you know other languages then PHP should be easy to learn. The biggest stumbling block for beginners is keeping languages straight. PHP runs on the server and it can output HTML, Javascript, CSS, etc. Those are processed by the browser after being sent by the server. This sounds simple, but you'd be amazed at how often we see code that demonstrates the writer has not understood this fact.

Thanks for the suggestions. I had a friend to point me to the painful lessons. Python the Hard Way was brilliant, but in the end I'm realising I can knock together a working version of my goal faster with php. I have a pretty firm grasp of the fundamentals of PHP, but am stumbling on the broader applications. Thanks again for the nod.

This post has been edited by Dormilich: 02 November 2011 - 11:24 PM

[creativecoding]

While tizag may feel a little "light weight", you should still read all of it. It provides the basics of php and acts as a stepping stone so you can get started and understand more complex ideas.

[johnbrunko]

Tizag beat the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks out of W3Schools. **shudder**

[CTphpnwb]

johnbrunko, on 02 November 2011 - 10:02 PM, said:

I have a pretty firm grasp of the fundamentals of PHP, but am stumbling on the broader applications.

In that case you should post questions in this forum, with your code in [code] tags [/code] and a brief explanation of what you were trying to accomplish along with any errors you're getting.

This post has been edited by Dormilich: 02 November 2011 - 11:25 PM

[creativecoding]

I think he means he's struggling on how to go about creating larger applications.


You'll have to start small. Create some small little tools and scripts and such until you have some basic knowledge on problem solving in PHP. Once that's done, make yourself some larger projects. Make sure to break everything down into chunks. You will want to complete one small feature at a time.

Like say you want to make some content management system where you can view files in a directory and edit them in a text editor. You would break that down into two parts, a file listing script and a file editing script. If there's one thing I've learned well in PHP, it's that there's no magic makeitwork() function.

[CTphpnwb]

creativecoding, on 02 November 2011 - 11:39 PM, said:

If there's one thing I've learned well in PHP, it's that there's no magic makeitwork() function.

Ah, but there are functions. And classes. Not only do you want to start small, but you also want to stay small. Break everything up into small projects that shouldn't take more than an hour (or some other arbitrary but small time period) to write. Put those pieces in their own functions and/or classes. If you get each method/function to work then it's just a matter of calling them at the right time and with the right parameters. Since each will be small, getting them to work should be easy!

[johnbrunko]

Well, there is a magic make it work function. I can get the NDA, but I can't get the cash to hire a pro.

[CTphpnwb]

Well then, what have you tried?

[johnbrunko]

I aapologise. If you read my posts you will see that the only request I have made is the original one for a good tutorial. I have not asked anyone to solve a problem or fix anything. My request started a conversation and I was attempting to be polite by responding. I will be working through all of the tuyorials that were recommended and will ask questions about code only when I cannot solve the problem myself. If this is the kind of community to assume and insult I'll be happy to browse and learn anonymously.

[CTphpnwb]

No insult assumed or intended. You just need to ask the right questions and after a few general questions the right question quickly becomes one that is specific to a particular task.

[Dormilich]

creativecoding, on 03 November 2011 - 04:39 AM, said:

If there's one thing I've learned well in PHP, it's that there's no magic makeitwork() function.

though there are magic functions …