45 replies
Hey all,

I'm quite good with HTML and CSS (I get by ) But I would love to build better websites with more functions.. for example a Digg clone. I understand most sites are a mixture of all programming languages but what should I learn next that will help me avoid hiring programmers etc. PHP, Javascript, C++? I don't mind paying freelancers but it's the fact I don't know exactly what they've done. I'm sure bad coding can leave me open to all sorts of trouble.

Saying that, any tips on finding a reliable coder?

Also, how did you learn? books or online?

Thanks,
Lou
#hey #learn #php
  • Profile picture of the author tweakr
    Alot of websites are built using PHP (mostly because hosting for PHP is cheap), but other languages like Java, Ruby, Python, Perl, etc. are popular for website development. JavaScript is becoming popular thanks to node.js. Sometimes C++ is used but usually only if the site expects some serious traffic and a lot of load. However, the amount of time it takes to build a site with C++ usually isn't worth it unless you know you'll be getting the traffic.

    Basically, just pick a programming language that you think you'll like and learn it. Once you have mastered a language it shouldn't really take anytime at all to pick up another. I put together a thread with a resource list that should help you get started. You should be able to get everything you need from sources online (for free), but if you find that you really want to know all the ins and outs of a particular language you may want to pick up a book or two covering it.

    As far as finding a reliable coder, I don't have any tips or advice on that.
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  • Profile picture of the author solidsoul
    why do you say only C++ can handle heavy loads?
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    • Profile picture of the author tweakr
      @solidsoul, I didn't say that "only" C++ can handle heavy loads, because this certainly wouldn't be true.
      What I said was that when somebody expects their site to be under heavy loads they might consider C++ (i.e. Amazon, Facebook, etc use C++).
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    • Profile picture of the author tweakr
      @solidsoul Yeah that's what it started as, but now it's their own special blend using HipHop (Facebook dev blog) (GitHub) which transforms their code from PHP to C++.

      Edit: Sorry, didn't notice your last post before posting this.
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  • Profile picture of the author solidsoul
    really I read something that facebook was a pure php based site... hmmm can't always believe what you read eh!
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  • Profile picture of the author solidsoul
    hmm you got me reading up on facebook building techniques seems they created and released HipHop that from what I read takes normal PHP source and transforms it to optimized C++ gaining anywhere from 30-50% performance peek... interesting
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  • Profile picture of the author WPBounce
    Learn php. It's pretty easy and it's not as strict as other programming languages. I saw designers only who pick up on php very quick.
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  • Profile picture of the author YemTv
    PHP is easy only for those who have interest in this....
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  • Profile picture of the author mafia1
    PHP is a very popular programming language used in many highly traffic websites apart from facebook. Example Wikipedia. PHP is suited for web development because it can be embedded into web pages, its lightweight and it is very powerful. The possibilities of what you can do with php is only limited to your imagination!

    With PHP as well as html5, css3, and javascript you can become an A+ web developer.
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  • Profile picture of the author khurramseo
    To learn php you must see vedio tutorials available on different sites.
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  • Profile picture of the author mstealth
    PHP is the best option to learn as you already are good in html and css, it is a kind of easy going language, at least i rate php this way
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  • Profile picture of the author brandonthomas
    Banned
    PHP is an open source server side programming language,very flexible but powerful, most suitable for developing dynamic web pages.
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  • Profile picture of the author CrossHash
    start with php .. maybe parallel it with vb / asp at the same time .. then lead to asp.net .. OOP .. soap .. java .. c++ etc ..

    but remember .. ya cant eat an elephant all at once
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    Paul Morris

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  • Profile picture of the author sandhi
    I am learning php and other programming languages ​​from online sites www.w3schools.com..it's a suitable site for you to start learning php and others programming languages ..
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  • Profile picture of the author qualityweb
    I think you should learn PHP and Mysql to make the web page dynamic. To make a web page you have to be good in Html, little bit in CSS, depth knowledge in php and mysql, and javascript.
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  • Profile picture of the author Terry Crim
    Spend time learning jQuery for front end layout design along with your css skills. They work very closely together jQuery and CSS. With the advances in jQuery many traditional javascript programming is no longer neccesary and easy to achieve with one maybe two lines of jQuery. Ajax is also added into jQuery as well without plugins needed, not sure when that happened but it was somewhat recent I believe.

    The best book on PHP I have is "Murach's PHP/MYSQL" go with the physical book not the downloadable version, the physical book is much easier to work with. I have 8 to 10 other PHP and MySQL books and this one book replaces all but one aspect of one of the others. You can search online for expanded uses if the book itself doesn't quite cover the complexity you need.

    The second resource I use is the downloadable manual from php.net, get the most recent CHM version WITH the user comments. Absolutely priceless for examples and clarifications. When all else fails I go with what the manual says.

    For web design and mobile apps these are the hottest things to learn right now:

    html5
    xhtml1.0 / 1.1
    CSS2
    CSS3
    jQuery
    php & MySQL
    php 5.2 to 5.4.x
    Some hosts have teh 5.2.x version while others have the more recent versions of 5.3 and maybe 5.4 so it is important to program with the 5.2 in mind and only use functions that are backwards compatible or check if possible and provide a fall back method. Otherwise some sites wont be able to use your programs, depending how you code them.
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    • Profile picture of the author Baadier Sydow
      Originally Posted by Terry Crim View Post

      Spend time learning jQuery for front end layout design along with your css skills. They work very closely together jQuery and CSS. With the advances in jQuery many traditional javascript programming is no longer neccesary and easy to achieve with one maybe two lines of jQuery. Ajax is also added into jQuery as well without plugins needed, not sure when that happened but it was somewhat recent I believe.

      The best book on PHP I have is "Murach's PHP/MYSQL" go with the physical book not the downloadable version, the physical book is much easier to work with. I have 8 to 10 other PHP and MySQL books and this one book replaces all but one aspect of one of the others. You can search online for expanded uses if the book itself doesn't quite cover the complexity you need.

      The second resource I use is the downloadable manual from php.net, get the most recent CHM version WITH the user comments. Absolutely priceless for examples and clarifications. When all else fails I go with what the manual says.

      For web design and mobile apps these are the hottest things to learn right now:

      html5
      xhtml1.0 / 1.1
      CSS2
      CSS3
      jQuery
      php & MySQL
      php 5.2 to 5.4.x
      Some hosts have teh 5.2.x version while others have the more recent versions of 5.3 and maybe 5.4 so it is important to program with the 5.2 in mind and only use functions that are backwards compatible or check if possible and provide a fall back method. Otherwise some sites wont be able to use your programs, depending how you code them.
      I think I'm going to spend some time going through the book, perhaps it will click for me.
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  • Profile picture of the author mmrumii
    To learn any types of programming , I think we should try Youtube videos
    I always prefer video tutorials, cause you can watch practically here.
    Now I'm trying to learn PHP by following youtube videos.
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  • Profile picture of the author shzad1
    PHP is an open source server side programming language,very flexible but powerful, most suitable for developing dynamic web pages.I have learnt it at w3schools.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ebbam
    It is very easy to learn PHP if you are interested, you can browse through google to get list of ebooks on PHP and Mysql. I have a website where you can get a concise ebook on HTML,CSS,PHP and MYSQL all combined together. If you are interested, you can PM me. I would have pasted the link on this reply but my post is just 10 and I am not allowed to paste any link. Hope to hear from you.
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  • Profile picture of the author onedesk
    A lot of people bag on PHP but a lot of developers still use it. You can learn online from sites like Lynda or from books. Also a lot of local universities I've noticed offer online courses for this now as well.
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  • Profile picture of the author bugtrack
    I would advice you to learn php. It is really pretty easy and it's not as strict as other programming languages
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  • You would better learn a programming language first and understand the concepts well. then the second one will be easy to learn.
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  • Profile picture of the author honestim
    I always head over to W3Schools Online Web Tutorials whenever I have to pick something new regarding programming. Now please note that I am not a big programmer myself. But this site I just mentioned has been a handy reference for me whenever I have needed some help.

    HonestIM
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  • Profile picture of the author keithotzkie
    I think PHP would be good since youve already mastered HTML and CSS..
    Then you could try learning Scripts as well.. And try checking out JQuery..
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  • Profile picture of the author Linda brown
    I think tizag.com site is a good tutorial for a learn to PHP, You can learn from this site php,css,javascript,html etc.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mary Smith
    w3schools site is good site , but oops concept are not include in this site, so i prefer to php.net site.
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  • Profile picture of the author peterclarkk
    PHP is easy to learn open source server side scripting language.It's Use for Web Development.PHP stands for Hypertext PreProcessor.PHP is an very Flexible,Powerful and Most Suitable for Developing Dynamic Web page.
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  • Profile picture of the author annife polak
    Hey there,

    you saying that you can work in html and css, which is nice but these are not programming languages. Unlike PHP, which it is. PHP it program to change html source according to user responce. But anyway...I would recommend you to watch some tutorial for beginners on youtube. Good luck.

    A.
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  • Profile picture of the author dynamicdreamz
    easy to compare asp.net
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  • Profile picture of the author dreamtech
    Try to Learn php. It's pretty easy and it's not as strict as other programming languages. I saw designers only who pick up on php very quick.
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  • Profile picture of the author msu
    The way I learnt PHP was to set up a local server on my laptop and use that to try things out. Of the server side languages PHP is the easiest to learn and will allow you to do most things you're likely to want to do.

    I think the server setup I used was called xampp - or something like that, long time ago - it includes Apache, PHP and MySQL (database) and installs everything automatically so you don't need to spend a lot of time configuring things to get started.
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  • Profile picture of the author Lisa rogers
    PHP is very easy language , if you have knowledge of c, c++.
    php.net site is a good site for a learning.
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  • Profile picture of the author eluminousdev
    Hey,
    We would love to help you for building the site using PHP.

    I believe only practical implementation of the things rather than watching the videos or just trying simple simple program from many sites.
    One can only do the good programming who practices and continously work on the different projects because each project has different logic which increases the good experience.
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  • Profile picture of the author seokid
    PHP is a very popular programming language used in many highly traffic websites apart from facebook. Example Wikipedia. PHP is suited for web development because it can be embedded into web pages
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  • Profile picture of the author kevinbezyli
    PHP stands for Hypertext Preproccessor.It is totally open source source server side scripting language.PHP is an very Flexible,Powerful and Most Suitable for Developing Dynamic Web page.
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  • Profile picture of the author locke815
    Yup, PHP is good. I just use dreamweaver and w3school. There you go. Works like a charm
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  • Profile picture of the author rising_sun
    Banned
    You can learn next PHP with MySql back end ,If you love easy work.Otherwise you can choose .NET with C#,it is both scripting and pure programming language.

    I am following PHP because it is easy and outsource .
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  • Profile picture of the author jaasmit
    If you do not have any idea at all about php or javascript then you can take look at the w3schools. That will give you some basic idea.
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  • Profile picture of the author wayfarer
    Sure, you can learn a programming language on your own, but the only real way to learn, in absence of doing things the strict way, going to school, etc, is to work on others' code, and working with other developers.

    Some people think all you need is w3schools, a few video tutorials, and you're good to go! This is clearly not true, but it does help explain why there is so much garbage code out there written in PHP.
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  • Profile picture of the author websoft
    about 70% of internet sites are developed using php. so you can just very well guess how is support community and help material available for learning PHP.

    you can simply google for w3c + php and google will come up with very first site w3c which is the site to start from. Once you're master of basics, go for advanced learning. Best of luck buddy!
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  • Profile picture of the author snehal pancholi
    yes, you can learn php website development easily, start learning with w3schools. after successful completion for php basic learning, try for advanced things in php like joomla and wordpress.
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    • Profile picture of the author GEOBAK
      I suggest combining both offline and online sources to learn php.

      There are tons of books you can find on Amazon from best Selling Authors on how to learn php.

      And of course there are many online sources as well. I myself own a website that seels online cideos on how to learn php for example.

      Regards
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