Learning PHP

GiantRobo

In my Votec class we just started PHP, I was wondering if you guys could tell me of some good sites with tutorials, as htmlgoodies isn't being very helpful for my current situation. I have a simple hello world right now that I need to get working, but I have no idea what error on line two it keeps giving me is.

Thanks in advance.

Spackle

I always use this is a reference:w3schools

Definitely straight and to the point. I mostly figured out PHP as I went along (never the best route) with google, there are tons of references.

PHP is a lot of fun, especially if you want to get into some OOP

RoundBoy

php.net

The docs on individual functions are 99% of all you need. To get started with php, break up what you want to do into sections. Create a php page to start writing some output.... then make the output dynamic... then pull something from a db connection, etc.. all depends on what you need to do.

In the case of errors.. the message really does give a lot away. and 99% of the time the error is on the line BEFORE the one in question.. due to the fact of missed quotes or terminators.

Check for ending ' ; ' on each line
check proper quotes
functions spelled correctly ?
vars begin with $ ?

Get an editor with syntax highlighting... its a god send

Jimmy King

I generally just use the docs on php.net when I have to do something with php. They've got examples of most stuff along with user comments that sometimes help to clarify things.

Also, with something as simple as a Hello World program it may be easiest to google for an example of a working one and then compare that to yours to see what is different. Then experiment and do some more googling to find out why that difference broke it.

krl

RoundBoy wrote: »

php.net

Seconded/thirded.

Just type php.net/functionname in your browser for quick access, for example http://php.net/echo

mrcheesypants

www.phpfreaks.com is a good php community. It also has some decent specific tutorials.

kevbot

If you're looking into PHP for the first time, I'd suggest CodeIgniter. It's a really slick, simple and fast framework for web development. It's generally the most logical piece of software I've ever seen...

And again, php.net is a great resource.

Feral

I am a shitty, shitty programmer but I was able to learn enough about PHP in an afternoon to build a simple PHP widget using arrays and CSV files using just the documentation at php.net, without cribbing anybody else's code.

Æthelred

http://www.tizag.com/phpT/