Learning PHP

Looking for sage advice

[Cienwen]

Hello PHP wizards,

I am looking to learn PHP but I have been told I should Perl?

What are your opinions?

Thanks,

Cienwen

[eelixduppy]

It is generally a personal preference whether you use php or perl, although there are some deciding factors that you may want to keep in mind.

Will you be doing database handling? Will you be handling XML documents? Do you want to learn relatively quick? If you answer yes to any of these then php is your best bet. Of course there are other factors--these are just a few. In my opinion, php has a nicer documentation than perl, is growing much more rapidly than perl, and is probably more popular among new programmers because of this. If I were you, I'd go with learning php because it is very nice and quick. You can always do a search: php vs perl [google.com].

If you do want to learn php, you might want to start with an Introduction [us2.php.net]. Also, as some reading material, you might want to check out what php can do for you [us2.php.net]. This may help you decide what you want to learn.

Good luck learning! ;)

[King_Fisher]

If just one, PHP for sure!

[leadegroot]

In 2007?
Learn Ruby on Rails instead :)

Honestly, it depends what you plan to do with the language