PHP-Tricks?

[Digital Skraps]

As I’ve mentioned a few times here I started my new job yesterday. Despite the job being for a PHP programmer i got the job over some applicants without knowing any php because of my knowledge of xhtml, css and some seo techniques. I got the position after I let them know I was going to school after requesting a letter of recommendation and they offered me a chance to learn here instead of pay to learn somewhere else. So once again I have dodged the school bullet and I have yet to go. Just goes to show if you work hard you can do whatever it is you want to do.

However this is not to brag but to explain my need because I have a big task ahead of me, I need to learn PHP and the faster the better. Theyre going to be walking me through it of course but the purpose of this post is to see if anybody here knows of sites similar to CSS-Tricks, Freelance switch, psdtuts, nettuts, webdesigner wall and so on and so on that are for PHP.

I like the simple and easy to understand approach of all the sites listed above and while i typically think of php guys as not to aesthetically oriented, I was hoping somebody knew of something similar for a guy like me. I’m very visually oriented both in learning and practice and PHP isn’t really known for that.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks for your help in advance.

[Nodster]

I found http://www.killerphp.com/videos/ along with the beginners guide to php, mysql and apache from wrox a good starting point to get your head around it.

[Donna]

I read the book "PHP and MySQL Web Development" by Luke Welling and Laura Thomson. I think it is excellent and hits on all the important things you need to know. It has a big chunk on learning the language itself, a chunk on MySQL, and then chapters on building a CMS, ecommerce, a mailing list manager, a working app that accesses amazon.com, and lots more useful, real-world apps. It has lots of sample code and includes all the apps on the CD (all of them work!).

The book is very well written and to the point of what you need to know. I know you can find stuff online but when you want to really learn something in a systematic way where you cover all the bases, a book is the way to go in my opinion.

– Donna

[koewnet]

I’d recommend the book Learning PHP 5 (Paperback) as it teaches you alot of up-to-date PHP, and it gives you a good start in the PHP-universe.

Also, if you’d like to start off with a framework (might be too much, but who knows?) there’s CakePHP.

[Digital Skraps]

thanks guys for all the help. im going to be looking into all of it asap. i think im building our new company site next week and will be getting my feet wet so should be interesting hah.

and in regards to frameworks i talked to my bosses and project manager and im hoping if theres any learning of frameworks it will be Ruby on Rails.

[brrutzo]

This is a really great site for learning PHP. http://www.phpvideotutorials.com/ You can start off from the bottom floor using the free lessons on the right hand side. Leighmac does a really great job presenting the information.

Good luck!

[c4st]

Not a bad idea. Chris, if you’re down for starting a PHP-Tricks.com hit me up. I have the domain already and I am also well polished when it comes to discussions about PHP.

[pab]

killerphp is a great site

PHP-tricks would be amazing

[Argeaux]

a php sub forum would be pretty cool, but it wouldn’t make much sense on a css website :? Anyhow the trick for php is to just try little cases (guest book, login system) and work your way up. Watch out for outdated tutorials and scripts on the web .. it still works but is a huge security risk most of the time.

[ThinkSoJoE]

I learned PHP a while back, I will tell you that w3schools’ intro to PHP taught me a lot. You can do a Google search for virtually any script you need to do, but as somebody else above me said, watch out for outdated scripts if you go that route. I’m surprised nobody else gave you this one though, whenever I’ve gotten stuck writing a script, I’ve brought my case to the forums at http://www.phpbuilder.com. They give fast responses, and even if they’re just guessing they’re usually right.

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