Forum Moderators: mack
My local college has a visual basic part time course starting in january, but speaking to another computer scientist type person in germany i know well, says not to do vb if you want to learn php. go for something like java or c.
What is everyones opinions on learning php? Is it best to go for C and Java first and then go to php? Or best to go straight to php? My local college did have a part time java course, i will have to ask tomorow if theres another starting up soon.
Wheres the best place to learn php? I find the best way of learning is putting it into practise, but none of the php tutorials i've found on the internet do that..or at least i dont find that.
:)
Example:
Tutorials for MySQL. Ummm.. excuse me, I can get the part about writing MySQL statements just fine, but *where* should they be written, huh? In Notepad? Unix command line? And does that need shell access? And if so, how is that done? What good is a tutorial without that informaton? Duh!
Some books will do the same thing, hence it's best to check first before buying.
To answer the question directly, it's VERY hard to manage learning two (or more) computer programming languages at the same time. Do you want to wait until you're proficient at C or Java before getting into PHP? If not, start with PHP.
If you really want to take a class, as a better alternative to a course emphasizing a language, if the local college has a beginning course in programming logic, that won't emphasize a complicated language, even if it does use one (they all do), but it'll give you a foundation in basic logic structures and how to use them.
In your case, I'd phone the department chairperson and/or instructors and get their opinion on reaching your goals, since they'll know how their curriculum works and what the syllabus is for each of their classes.
[edited by: Marcia at 10:54 pm (utc) on Dec. 17, 2007]
If you see yourself working more on the web, PHP, ASP, and perl are probably better choices. Although Java is used on the web, it is more of a "minor player" and really has more application on desktop programming.
It's notable to mention that if you can program in perl, you can easily transition to PHP. the two are very close in structure. PHP has more predefined functions you'd normally hand-code in perl or use a library of some sort. This is what makes it so easy to learn.
If you want to program executable software, you should look more into C++, Visual Basic, Java, and other compiled languages.
There is a lot of cross-over for all of the above, so anything you learn will help the other.
[w3schools.com...]
Then definitely learn PHP. Much easier than learning C and if your goal is to build websites, there is no point in learning C. It's only useful for very high performance and advanced stuff.
>>Wheres the best place to learn php?
Naturally, that would be the webmasterworld PHP forum [webmasterworld.com]. Have a look through the forum library over there.
But how does one learn from an amorphous collection of forum posts if you are just a beginner? Based on what you say about your learning style, I think I learn a lot like you. I had probably a stronger programming background when I started learning PHP, but it had been years ago.
I learned a lot by building a few sites, but I learned a HUGE amount by cruising the PHP forum and I developed a much broader set of skills than I ever would have from my own projects alone.
- Pick a simple project that you can start on.
- When you're stuck, ask for help over in the PHP forum
- when you get a little better, hunt for questions where you don't know the answer, but think you could figure it out with a bit of research and trial and error.
i have looked briefly thru the php library and looks like some really good stuff in there for me to look over one day soon.
Hopefully i wont spam or flood the php forum too much with my questions :p
:)
Have a good attitude, say thanks and don't worry about flooding!
