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Home Forums Back End Just finished the PHP class on Codecademy.com… Now what?

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  • #44948
    nixnerd
    Participant

    I just finished the class/module on PHP on Codecademy.com. I’m wondering where I should go from here.

    Should I continue reading up on PHP and going into some intermediate stuff or should I just try to start working with what I know?

    Maybe the best thing would be to scratch build a WordPress theme so I can tackle some real-world problems?

    What does everyone think?

    #135913
    Alen
    Participant

    [OOPHP](http://www.phpfreaks.com/tutorial/oo-php-part-1-oop-in-full-effect), fwiw or you could start solving real world problems. Experimenting with WordPress could be a good start.

    What do you wanna do?

    #135918
    JohnMotylJr
    Participant

    @Joe_Temp, If you completed a class/module on codeacademy.com then this probably means you aren’t entirely proficient in PHP. But kudos for learning.. I suggest you try using what you learned and practice, practice, and more practice. Once you are truly comfortable with the subject matter that you have previously dabbled in, try tackling something a little more intermediate.

    My main focus (career wise) is dot net, Microsoft stuff, so when i get free time i try to learn things outside of my domain. I love javascript and jquery so when i want to learn more, i go to these forums and try to fix peoples problems. Why?

    First, not everyone has the same problems, so doing research on something unfamiliar to you will not only help you learn a little something, but help someone else. On top of that, once you fix the problem, or make attempts, you can save that code as a snippet somewhere and later on when you need something like that, wa la!

    Second, proficiency is the product of successful practice. Keep it up, you will be G2G!

    #135919
    Alen
    Participant

    > not everyone has the same problems, so doing research on something unfamiliar to you will not only help you learn a little something, but help someone else.

    `+100`!

    #135939
    nixnerd
    Participant

    My ultimate goal: To be able to build a site with a login system/user profiles/etc. from SCRATCH.

    I already know HTML and CSS. I now know a bit of PHP. I understand I will also need to know some MySQL and probably some Javascript/jQuery… all of which I’ve dabbled in.

    I’m wondering if I should continue with PHP or try to learn a little MySQL.

    My dilemma is that I love this site: http://learncodethehardway.org/

    That’s where I learned the Python I know. However, there is not a PHP course. BUT… there is a MySQL course!!!

    Should I stick with just PHP for now or learn some MySQL?

    #135941
    JohnMotylJr
    Participant

    @Joe_Temp, hey man, if your ultimate goal is to build a login/reg system from scratch, i hope it is more or less a mile stone kind of thing. I would hate to see you re-invent the wheel where there are so many great things our there already.

    I totally understand though, i built one as well lol.. I might get shunned for saying this here, but why dont you download Visual Studio Express 2012 and build yourself a login/reg system in the dot net framework :) :)

    Overall, if you wanna be a php programming wizard, MySQL and php run hand and hand, so i say stay focused on php until you are supder D duper comfortable.

    #135942
    nixnerd
    Participant

    Also, I’m a Linux nerd (Fedora 18) and I have LAMP stack installed. Should I start learning some MySQL, just so I can play around with the two?

    #135943
    JohnMotylJr
    Participant

    Do you have a test environment setup for php and mysql?

    #135944
    nixnerd
    Participant

    @JohnMotylJr Ok, I have some good resources at hand. Practical PHP is pretty good and I can pick up where I left off.

    The most I’d be willing to do is some copy and paste. There are some good (and really bad) scripts already out there for PHP.

    The only thing is… I want to UNDERSTAND why I’m doing what I’m doing. I hate just copying and pasting and not knowing why. You know?

    #135945
    nixnerd
    Participant

    Yeah… I’ve got a virtual Apache server.

    #135946
    JohnMotylJr
    Participant

    @Joe_Temp, yeah man i hear ya. It is super easy to copy and paste or even copy a video but then at the end you wanna know why you are having problems and not understanding anything.

    I understand about the code too. You browse code snippets and realize it is garbage lol. Why dont you check out Php Academy. I have used a few of their videos before when trying to figure some stuff out. They do a good job of explaining what they are doing and WHY they are doing it that way. Just make sure you try to watch and/or follow along with some more recent videos.

    #135948
    JohnMotylJr
    Participant

    Oh and yeah, just don’t give up or get frustrated!

    #135949
    nixnerd
    Participant

    Thanks for the advice! MUCH appreciated! And BTW, if anyone wants to learn Python, SQL or Ruby… check out LCTHW!

    I’m not affiliated. However, it taught someone who BARELY got an A in CS1000 how to write code in Python. Although, Python is pretty elegant.

    I’m gonna call this one solved until I devour more reading material.

    #135950
    JohnMotylJr
    Participant

    @Joe_Temp, thanks for that link. My first year of college i did Python and to be honest i dont remember really anything about it lol.. #def main or something like that lol..

    Anywho, good luck man and post a follow up.

    #135978
    __
    Participant

    >The most I’d be willing to do is some copy and paste

    …only thing is… I want to UNDERSTAND why I’m doing what I’m doing.

    Those would seem to be conflicting statements.

    As for LPTHW, agreed, great book (series). I don’t think the MySQL book is complete. In any case, it’s the *approach* to studying programming that is most valuable, not the specific lessons. You can apply the “Hard Way” principles to anything you study, with or without a tutorial.

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