mise_me_fein Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Hey guys This is not really a technical question. I've been trying to improve my Php over the last couple of months and it is getting better but clearly there's still a hell of a way to go. I'm going to start looking for work in php now but I don't know what to prepare beforehand. Should I design a small site or what? Internship? I feel like the only way that I will really get good at php is if I'm working in a job with it for many hours a week. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/203590-starting-out-with-php-in-the-real-world/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewooleymammoth Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 i agree with this question. i would also like to know Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/203590-starting-out-with-php-in-the-real-world/#findComment-1066501 Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Little Guy Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Take some online tests (don't cheat): http://w3schools.com/quiztest/quiztest.asp?qtest=PHP but just because you pass, doesn't mean that your ready (but maybe you are ready). It is good to also just keep practicing by making games, or rebuilding an existing site or making your own new site. - Take some classes - Read some books - Read the documentation (http://www.php.net/manual/en/langref.php) - Read some tutorials (http://www.tizag.com/phpT/ or http://w3schools.com/php/default.asp) - Answer questions in the forum. If you don't know the answer research it, write out some code and test it until you get it working. If no one has replied yet, or it hasn't been solved yet, or you have a different answer that some else who is correct, share your find. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/203590-starting-out-with-php-in-the-real-world/#findComment-1066524 Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinM1 Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Take some online tests (don't cheat): http://w3schools.com/quiztest/quiztest.asp?qtest=PHP That quiz, like just about everything else on w3schools, is laughable. It's essentially trivia from the first chapter of a beginner's book. - Read some books - Answer questions in the forum. If you don't know the answer research it, write out some code and test it until you get it working. If no one has replied yet, or it hasn't been solved yet, or you have a different answer that some else who is correct, share your find. I agree with this, however. The only way you'll improve is by writing code. There's no way around it. Working on problems presented by others on this forum is a very good way to practice as you'll be solving common problems that virtually everyone starting out with PHP encounters. You may also find that asking questions in the 'Application Design' sub-forum we have to be a good way to wrap your head around some of the big picture hurdles you'll no doubt stumble on. I also highly stress getting a good introductory book. There are a ton of free tutorials out there, but I find the majority of them to be poor. They either rely on bad coding habits, or are written in a deprecated version of the language. You might as well get a good book if you're serious about it. PHP's own site is a good resource as well. I wouldn't use it as your #1 resource, but it's a good place to see how to use some modules you may not be familiar with (like mysqli), and its function reference is unbeatable. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/203590-starting-out-with-php-in-the-real-world/#findComment-1066631 Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnoTheDev Posted June 3, 2010 Share Posted June 3, 2010 One method I used was to take an existing script. Learn how it works. Pull it to pieces and try to modify the functionality. Years ago I installed the ecommerce script http://oscommerce.com (2.2). We had some clients running this who wanted custom functionality, so the only way was to learn and modify a test version. Try it yourself. Take the base system and try to add new things like multiple images, different shipping modules, change the layout, add a buy one get one free, add promotional codes that alter the price. The best way to learn is just to dive in at the deep end. Once you have the above sussed out, why not try to build your own version and improve on the areas you think need improving on. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/203590-starting-out-with-php-in-the-real-world/#findComment-1067060 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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