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give a newbie the "big picture" about becoming a pro

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May 27.2008

Ok, so I am a total newbie to PHP and web development with plenty of unrelated experience in Java/C# desktop apps. And since apparently web developers seem to be the only ones showing up in “help wanted” ads I would like to get some overall notion as to how to train myself as a web developer. I hope that this thread would be of interest not just for me but also for many other beginners.

Some questions:

  • 1.

    is there some standard recommended progression of typical projects for newbies to do? Like first a store, then a forum then something else?

  • 2.

    where can I learn about off-the-shelf components that can be assembled into a website? E.g. I would imagine that registration and login, shopping cart, and forum should be very commonly used components that it should be possible to incorporate off the open source shelf with minor customization. Is that the case? How do I go about learning about them and getting hands-on experience with them?

  • 3.

    this is not quite PHP, but anyway, the same question as 2. only for Java and .NET. Are there such components in those languages and how can I learn about them? How about Python?

    • Ok, these are what I have come up with so far, maybe they sound very lame on account of me being newbie. Maybe there are lots of crucial questions that I am not asking because I am clueless. So any and all info about starting from scratch and becoming a web developer is highly appreciated.

    Thanks a lot ahead of time.

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    2 Comments(s) ↴

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    @GenixdeaeMay 28.2008 — Welcome dude!

    1) Make a website with basic php(like echo, forms, login script(really isn't that complicated)), then work your way from there. My first thing was an Announcement script for my old school. After that just take projects as they come, a lot of people will tell you not to re-create the wheel(which makes sense) but sometimes doing so helps. If you want to do a forum, use google and look for tutorials and tips on how to do so. Research is your main limitation on how to progress, research less, progress slower, research more, the more you learn how to do.

    2)The components thing will vary on which script you use. Integrating PHPBB into a website is different from integrating IPB, integrating OCommerce shopping cart is different from another shopping cart. In those cases you'd want to read the FAQ's on the respective website. The best way(in my opinion) for getting experience with them is to make a local web server(using IIS or Apache) and just playing with it all locally.

    3)I honestly can't help ya here, other then suggest, again, doing your own research(use google or yahoo or whatever you want).

    How much you effort you put into research and doing things on your own(w/o someone telling you what to do) are going to be your biggest things. Using php.net's online documentation is one of your greatest resources, their comments and its users comments have a lot of useful information.

    Hope that helps.
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    @furnissgMay 28.2008 — www.w3schools.com

    www.php.net

    Both are good places to start to learn the basics

    www.phpclasses.org is a good place to find open source components.

    its always good to start simple and work your way up.
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