How did you learn php?

Hey guys, ive been in web design for nearly 4 years now. Im very comftorble with front-end design (xhtml, css, photoshop, flash etc) however, i havnt got too involved with php yet, ive done a few contact forms and stuff but the whole php thing just seems soooo complicated and confusing.

I want to start getting to grips with it, what im wanting to know from you php people is, how did you go about learning it when you were in my position?

Thanks, Danny322

Hi Dan

I live in Birmingham and was lucky enough to find a free 2 day course!
http://www.openadvantage.org/

Dont know if there is a similar thing where you are from but it helped be get a basic understanding of php

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Hi Dan

I am currently trying to learn php at the moment, And I am learning php in two different ways!

1) I have this book I am reading, forget what it is called as I am not at home, but I will certainly check that out for you when I get home, but I would suggest a book to get going, because it has helped me a great deal.

2) Lynda Website, on there is great video tutorials, I will find you a free months pass, because it is somewhere on here

So hope this helps you, as I am in same position as you

Cracka

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Hi Again

Found the link to the Lynda Website:

http://movielibrary.lynda.com/html/p...5-0F5BB9FA6532}

But, It is only a weeks trial not a months trial, sorry for the misunderstanding!

Cracka

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Hi Dan,

I downloaded oscommerce and just started to play with it. I find that's the best way for me to learn. seeing how things interact, break them, fix them (with a lot of googling in between).

I am currently breaking joomla...

a couple of my bookmarks for you:

http://php.resourceindex.com/Documentation/
http://www.php-resources.org/

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Hey thanks the the great links guys, i will browse through them now. Appreciate the help!

is oscommerce free welshstew? I am currently using VPASP Shopping Cart Software at work, this has helped me understand asp to some extent so i see where your coming from, downloading oscommerce may be a good option.

yep, open source...

you can get it here: http://www.oscommerce.com/

but if you have fantastico with your hosting you can also get them to install it real easy

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Thanks. Nope dont have fantastico unfortunately.

original (out of the box) install: http://demo.oscommerce.com/
example of customization: http://www.eithafcymru.com/
example is no longer updated by me, and as such is way out of date, need to fix that really.

also need to complete the translation, alex?

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WelshStew Site Admin
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I started with tutorials on w3schools.com, tizag.com and devzone.zend.com.
-Still learning!

I would use the oscommerce package, was definately the best open source commerce package there was.

I tried cube cart aswell, and absolutely hated it, whereas oscommerce is really easy to modify and change to your look and feel needed, but takes abit of time to get the look you really desire

Cracka

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I tend to work best with a little bit of pressure. I blagged my way into a full time job doing php..... it was intresting weekend finding out what php actually was.

I was exactly the same as you...
I left school, not having a clue what I wanted to do, and then thought of my one love..COMPUTERS!
So started a colege course that would last 2 years that goes around everything computer wise, And so web design come up, and I loved it, even if it was with tables.
Then we started doing other computer related work that I hated so thought, need something new, so blagged myself a part time job as web designer, when all I knew was html.

Now I have been here a few months I have already learned CSS, and no some of the basic php/mysql. And have created some good websites, I am proud of.

So that way is sometimes the best, Sorry to bore you all, but wanted to let it out

Cracka

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I learnt entirely from web tutorials.
Tizag was a great help in the start.
Most of the places I went to can be found in http://www.webforumz.com/php-forum/6...-beginners.htm

There are also some great videos on lynda.com
http://www.lynda.com/search/?q=php&b...=0&btnG=Search

and sitepoint
http://www.sitepoint.com/subcat/php-tutorials

if you prefer a more visual approach

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I discovered a book by Kevin Yank called 'Develop your Own Database Driven Site' or something similar and it teaches you the fundamentals of creating your own CMS, which I did and now use for my blog. In the post somewhere is 'The PHP Anthology' which I cant wait for, and I'm now trying to learn Object Oriented PHP! Plus, I'm learning Javascript & the DOM Model at the same time, which I find helps because they are both similar syntaxes, or at least I think so.

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I bought Larry Ullman's book (Quickpro series) called something like "PHP and MySQL for Dynamic Websites, then worked through it without any shortcuts.

The only negative is that his two chapters on straight mysql introduction are weak. I'd suggest a basic mysql book for quick reference.

The upsides are:
1. Great book that teaches you all the basics. He's an excellent teacher.
2. All the code works.
3. He has a website where he constantly updates, corrects any errors, lets you download scripts, and best of all, actually answers questions. He's such a great guy and a very conscientious, full-time PHP teacher -- his "class" being people who buy his books.

I'm sure there's a new edition by now. Very highly recommended.