KevinM1

I say this with no sarcasm meant or implied: Congrats on getting new ownership, guys

Can you create those directories? Do you have the Mail.php and mime.php files? It sounds like you blindly copied a form in the hopes that just pasting it would work. It usually doesn't work like that.

@sec231, please place any code you want to post here within code tags. You can do it by either clicking on the <> button on our text editor, or by manually writing /*your code goes here */ .

Better solution: choose a better host than GoDaddy.

You can't access sessions unless you have session_start(); As one of the first lines of your script. I don't see it in your code example.

I'm using Mint 17, but pulled my LAMP stack from a different PPA. Unfortunately, I was having a weird issue with Apache 2.4.10 throwing a segmentation fault every time I tried accessing my Symfony projects' app.php and app_dev.php files. Other PHP files executed just fine, though. I'm in the process of trying to downgrade my Apache and PHP by removing the PPA and getting my LAMP stack from dotdeb's repos instead. I've tried removing and reinstalling Apache, but for some reason the package manager still thinks the version I got from the PPA is what needs to be installed, so it's throwing an error. Which is incredibly frustrating. I know just enough to install stuff, but fixing package dependencies is a real PITA.

I've never been a linux fan. I like writing code. That's it. Anything that gets in the way of doing that is something I dislike. So, even though I use linux as my work environment, because it's easier to get PHP and a database running there than with WAMP, I always find myself having to dig through configuration files and other nonsense to do my job. And I hate the package system as it's a PITA to downgrade versions. Right now I need to downgrade from Apache 2.4.10 and PHP 5.6.2 because I keep getting a segmentation fault in Apache when accessing certain local files. I can't just go to a 'Programs and Features' window and uninstall. I need to go to the package manager, attempt to uninstall, and pray that the associated packages are also removed. Modern linux is better, but it's not good enough. I'm not the kind of nerd that enjoys tinkering. I just want shit to work correctly out of the box so I can get to work. And linux still has too many warts where I'm spending time setting up my environment rather than working.

The only sure way to make money online is to create/maintain sites for others. It's not sexy, but it's stable and consistent. Entrepreneurship is great, it really is. But for every app or service that makes it, dozens fail, and fail hard. It's difficult to come up with something truly innovative or disruptive. Even the big corporations have difficulties, and they have scores of people whose job it is to create the next big thing. Just look at Google Wave, or Microsoft's Kin Phone for relatively recent examples. I've seen a ton of people come through here with dreams of making the Next x. The next Facebook. The next E-Harmony. The next Dropbox. And, IMO, if you merely want to iterate on what's been done before, chances are you're going to fail. Why? Because you need to come up with something so compelling that users will jump ship from established products that contain their info - whether it's personal profiles, the ability to interact with their friends, their files, whatever - to your product. And that's a hugely difficult sell, as end users are lazy and creatures of habit. For me, the risk isn't worth it. I'd rather have stable income than take a risk that the numbers show I won't likely win.

Yeah, the Matt Zandstra book is required reading if you really want to do OOP in PHP. After that, you should get the Gang of Four's book, which really drives the point(s) home. Both can easily be found on Amazon. They're basically OOP 101.

PDO isn't 'bind parameters'. It's a database abstraction layer. The point of PDO is that it allows one to write database queries without caring about the actual database you're using. PDO code should be able to be used in a MySQL database, PostgreSQL database, SQLite database, etc. with little to no modification. That's the whole point behind it. It makes code modular, and separate from the underlying mechanisms, which is one of the major reasons why people write OO code. Prepared statements are a separate nicety. Useful, to be sure, but not why PDO exists. Regarding the size of OOP code, it tends to be a bit overkill for small projects. There's generally a lot of overhead in creating/moving objects around, which makes it not worth it. OOP is built for complexity. But, yeah... 'bind parameters' isn't a thing to keep harping on. It's a secondary, rudimentary mechanism. Like I said in the other thread, it's like going "Oooh, arrays!" Potential employers will look at you funny if you gush/brag about them. In professional settings, existing libraries and frameworks (like Doctrine) take care of that (prepared statements, binding parameters) for you anyway.

I have the feeling that English isn't your first language, because the way you quote and italicize things makes no sense. Regarding creating a Careers 2.0 profile, you'll need to improve your skills across the board. That site is geared towards existing professionals obtaining new jobs. Unless I'm misreading what you want. But, yeah, putting something like "I know how to bind parameters while running database queries" in your resume is foolish. It's like saying "I know how to use arrays." It's a rudimentary skill, not something to highlight. That you think it's something you should bring attention to only shows how far you still need to go. Like I said before, your best bet is to actually create something. That will give you something you can point to as an example of your skill set, which will give employers an idea of what you can actually do. It's a vital piece to the puzzle, regardless of whether you're posting your resume online or contacting employers directly. No work you can show = no job. It's as simple as that.

Honestly? Judging by your post history, I think you're trying to run before you can walk. What do you mean by "can program with 'bind parameters'?" And since you're looking to find OOP blogging software to learn from just a topic or two down, can you really say you understand OOP? Because any decent employer will test you on it. Right there, on the spot. And the test will be far more complicated than 'write a class'. Do you know what composition is? How it differs from inheritance? What about polymorphism? Do you know the basic patterns? Factory Method? Prototype? Decorator? Strategy? If you answered 'no' to any of the above, you cannot claim that you can program OOP in any language. I'm not trying to dissuade you. Your enthusiasm is good. But it needs to be tempered by realism. You need to learn the fundamentals. You might be able to get an entry level position, but you need to be sure you're prepared to be tested. And be sure to have a portfolio of completed projects you can show off. At the end of the day, employers need to know you can complete a task from start to finish. Even if it's just test/experimental stuff you did on your own.

Type hinting has been in PHP for, well, years.

You did call the cops, right?

+1 for KeePass. The others are too auto-magical for my liking.

Most books that talk about design patterns lift the format that was used in the original Gang of Four book, where they describe the problem, show the pattern that addresses it, and any related patterns and/or things to keep in mind. Regarding the code, what you're seeing are SOLID principles at work (look up what SOLID means in the context of OOP). The code will look similar because the separation of concerns and favoring composition over inheritance, among other things, are OOP staples. So, combine the two, and you'll find that design pattern books are very samey. It doesn't mean that the patterns are necessarily the same or similar (although a lot of them do follow the same themes and build off one another), just that while you're learning about individual patterns you're actually also learning about how professionals attack problems in a larger, more meta sense.

There is no singular enterprise pattern. I mean, really, it says so right in the title of the book: Enterprise Patterns. And, despite what Larry Ullman says, MVC is most definitely a pattern. It's a bit looser in the world of web development than application UI development, which is where it originated from, but, yes, it's a pattern. The thing about patterns is that they're not mutually exclusive. It's not a matter of MVC OR something from Fowler's book. And, yes, patterns often have some overlap, or are otherwise similar in their execution. That's part of the point of patterns - they're generalized, and often can be used as the springboard to other patterns. They're also used in conjunction (MVC where the models are based on the Active Record pattern? What madness is this? ).

Put another way, coding style (procedural, OOP, etc.) is in no way a metric of code quality. There is nothing inherently bad with procedural code.

IMO, if you consider yourself a professional, you should either put your foot down and attempt to do it right or you should abandon this project if that's not an option. This isn't the kind of thing you'll want your named attached to unless it's implemented properly, and sending a private key via URL of all things is the exact opposite of proper implementation.

I've never had a problem with the online documentation. I consider it among the best, actually. Certainly better than MSDN.

Not sure. I'm not aware of any accurate metrics for such things. You can tell that they're in favor by looking at job listings, Stack Overflow questions, Twitter rumblings, talking with developers, that sort of thing. You can't go wrong with either, and since they're both modern MVC frameworks, the skills you obtain in learning one will transfer to the other. So, look at their sites and documentation, and pick the one that you think you'd like the most.

IMO, CakePHP isn't the way to go. Simply put, professionals don't use it, and it's likely not updated and not modern/secure. You're far better off going with Symfony 2 or Laravel. Those are the tools that are used in the real world, currently.

Good advice. AFAIK, Cake hasn't been updated in a while, and certainly isn't something someone should learn if they want to use professional tools.

Contract work. I'm a freelancer. I find it to be much more rewarding than making small scripts and selling them. You get to work with other developers and use all the tools the big boys use (Symfony, Doctrine, etc.), but at your own pace and on your own terms. The biggest hurdle in your case, IMO, is trying to figure out the income vs. state provided benefits vs. whether or not a dev firm will hire you for all the reasons we're both well aware of balance. The healthcare part of it is tricky, especially if you live in America and need to navigate the ACA/Obamacare minefield.

I'm disabled, and I work from home. The biggest thing to figure out is exactly how you want to work. Do you want to be self-employed? Work for a development firm?