loudog Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 I need some php experience....wondering if I can teach myself and what's the proper or best way to learn this or should i pony up some dough for a class? Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/236929-whats-the-best-way-to-learn-php/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinM1 Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 I think you'll find that a lot of us are self-taught. PHP has a low bar for entry, so you should be able to learn it on your own if you stay disciplined. You'll need good resources, though. Since PHP is so popular, there are a ton of free tutorials floating around out there. Unfortunately, a lot of them are crap. I find that it's better to have a small, solid library of books than to jump from tutorial to tutorial. Here's what I'd use: Start with the official online manual: http://www.php.net/manual/en/langref.php Use this book as a companion: http://www.amazon.com/PHP-World-Wide-Web-Second/dp/0321245652/ref=sr_1_17?ie=UTF8&qid=1305891226&sr=8-17 It's old, but it teaches the fundamentals. Once you're comfortable there, it's time to get serious with this book: http://www.amazon.com/Objects-Patterns-Practice-Experts-Source/dp/143022925X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305891305&sr=8-1 For 'graduate' work, see this book: http://www.amazon.com/Design-Patterns-Elements-Reusable-Object-Oriented/dp/0201633612/ref=pd_sim_b_39 This track should get you from beginner to capable. Be sure to actually write code while you progress. There's nothing as useful as getting the concepts and examples found in these resources to work. Finally, stay away from w3schools. It's not affiliated at all with the W3C, and contains incorrect information. Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/236929-whats-the-best-way-to-learn-php/#findComment-1217959 Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiderwell Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 i found when i started learning asp (my first scripting language) i just found a few examples online of simple things like basic if statements, write/read a text file, set a cookie etc. and just played aorund with them. then i tried a database connection and recordset. http://www.tizag.com/phpT/ is a ggod starting place for beginners Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/236929-whats-the-best-way-to-learn-php/#findComment-1217977 Share on other sites More sharing options...
loudog Posted May 20, 2011 Author Share Posted May 20, 2011 thanks for all the helps guys.one more thing that concerns me is that lately, i've been coping a lot of php scripts from the web. Now anyone can copy syntax for a search bar but can you do it with out looking at it. what concerns me is if thats a good way to learn or should i change somthing?? Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/236929-whats-the-best-way-to-learn-php/#findComment-1218229 Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiderwell Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 sure you can use other peoples scripts, but i prefer to write my own if i have time it teaches you more that way definitely. changing bits of scripts will teach you how to hack scripts, not how to code for yourself imo Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/236929-whats-the-best-way-to-learn-php/#findComment-1218249 Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrum Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 Self taught over here The only way to learn is to do it. I started out making simple html forms that spit out what I typed into them and then I started securing those forms, connecting to databases, and before I knew it I was applying for php development jobs. Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/236929-whats-the-best-way-to-learn-php/#findComment-1218432 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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