Where did you 'learn' / 'understand' PHP?

[PRIZM]

Hey!

I am so fucking tired that I can't code my own scripts and so on.
Where did you 'learn' / 'understand' PHP?
I am working on a CMS everyday (not created by me ofcourse) and I learn everyday but I still don't really understand it.

Do you prefer w3schools or another site?

Cheers. :

 

[Spheral]

Should be in a coding Discussion thread.
And use CodeAcademy
I picked up PHP from different sources etc. Learnt from CMS's and the imagecreatepng etc shiz.

 

[Eronisch]

Trying - Searching - Asking, i can't php. i code in asp.net mvc

 

[Jax]

I've picked up some knowledge of php, from places such as tizag and codecademy. You should really check them out.

 

[שเ๒єtгเ๒є]

Do you prefer w3schools or another site?

W3Fools – A W3Schools Intervention

(so, another site)

 

[Dave]

I kinda studied the source of certain open-source projects... (And php.net)
Never really had the patience for video tutorials or most other tutorial sites.

 

[TimeBomb]

For PHP, use the PHP manual. See the link in my sig for more about W3Schools (includes the same link that VibeTribe posted).

In general, when learning pretty much anything, especially something programming-related, you will want to read up on multiple sources. Don't assume that the first source, e.g. article, you find is correct. Look up and read multiple sources. Then, if applicable, look for reasons as to why that something is bad. Most everything has a counter-argument, and it's good to have multiple perspectives.

For example, if I want to learn about the MVC design pattern (AKA Model-View-Controller Architecture Pattern), I may search up several articles related to it, numerous examples of code, and articles as to why MVC is bad or what alternatives there are.

Learning from code is a decent idea, but with PHP especially, there is a _lot_ of poorly designed code. Even many of the very popular scripts are examples of poor application design. Be very weary, and good luck.

 

[PRIZM]

Thanks for helping me everyone! I am going with Codecademy, It's a very nice place to learn coding

 

[Gunblade]

-

 

[Chris]

This is the only time I would ever say what I'm about to say...

You should check out the Habbo section. There's lots of user-built CMSs posted in there that are all built on PHP.
I started my PHP journey with a Habbo CMS way back in the day called HoloCMS.

Deleting code, adding your own code, trying out new things inside these CMSs will really help your knowledge grow, even if you mess up the entire thing along the way.

The best policy I use is that if you know what you want to achieve with PHP, search it in Google, and chances are there will be a tutorial for it out there.

Best of luck on your journey.

 

[Langstra]

I had already started with HTML at first and I wanted to learn more, so bits and pieces I learned PHP. I used w3schools and tutorials. Most of the time I just set myself a goal, for instance to build a small hard coded login system. Then I started working on it and when I succeeded it meant I had done well and that I learned something.

You can learn a new language in many ways, but the best way of learning if by doing. If you don't code, you will never be able to code. You can't read something like that from a book only, you need to work, experiment, fail and then in the end all the hard work will pay off and you'll be able to code. The best thing is, it is like riding a bike, once you learned it, you'll never forget it.

 

[Manova]

Nettuts has some PHP courses which are pretty neat and up to date. They also follow good practices, so you'll have secure code from the get go.

 

[JessB75]

W3schools, I learned from using dreamweaver and searching codes "google"

 

[FrCoder]

Learn them from book.

 

[PRIZM]

Learn them from book.

No, not a book.

 

[Markshall]

Basically just looking at people's source codes and then finding out what features they used and punched them into php.net to see what they are used for, although some of them are pretty self-explanatory like 'array_merge();'

 

[PRIZM]

Basically just looking at people's source codes and then finding out what features they used and punched them into php.net to see what they are used for, although some of them are pretty self-explanatory like 'array_merge();'

I've actually learnt alot from your projects.

 

[Leon]

This is the only time I would ever say what I'm about to say...

You should check out the Habbo section. There's lots of user-built CMSs posted in there that are all built on PHP.
I started my PHP journey with a Habbo CMS way back in the day called HoloCMS.

Deleting code, adding your own code, trying out new things inside these CMSs will really help your knowledge grow, even if you mess up the entire thing along the way.

The best policy I use is that if you know what you want to achieve with PHP, search it in Google, and chances are there will be a tutorial for it out there.

Best of luck on your journey.

Exactly this.

 

[jur13n]

I kinda studied the source of certain open-source projects... (And php.net)
Never really had the patience for video tutorials or most other tutorial sites.

I did the same,
besides Dave tutored me.

 

[Ron]

Do it right and get a book. Books give you much more in-depth knowledge than studying someone's shitty coding. You learn the functions but you don't learn the theory behind what is right and what is wrong to use at different times.

If you're lazy, at least use code academy. Their PHP course still offers some theory, however if you're wanting to get serious with PHP then you need to read books covering beginner to advanced topics. You'll broaden your understanding of the language as a whole and will be able to grasp new concepts more quickly.

For beginners I recommend this,

Sams Teach Yourself PHP, MySQL and Apache All in One (5th Edition): Julie Meloni: 9780672335433: Amazon.com: Books

If you're advanced and need more in-depth topics, check these out,

PHP Advanced and Object-Oriented Programming: Visual QuickPro Guide (3rd Edition): Larry Ullman: 9780321832184: Amazon.com: Books

Pro PHP Security: From Application Security Principles to the Implementation of XSS Defenses (Expert's Voice in Open Source): Chris Snyder, Thomas Myer, Michael Southwell: 9781430233183: Amazon.com: Books