URGENT!!! I need help with the code

thecode

Hello,

I am applying for a job and the employer requires me to write a test code before he considers my application. I am an amateur PHP programmer. I have been working with PHP for a couple years to build some simple web sites for my personal use. Most of the PHP codes I wrote were PHP 4 with MySql 4. I think the test will be written in PHP 5 and MySql 5.

The test is given today through email at 1pm PST and must be completed by 8am PST tomorrow. I don't know how difficult it is. I will do the test myself but I may need some advice from the gurus if I get stuck somewhere along the way. I don't mean to ask you do the test for me, just give me some advice when I need it. I will post some questions today under this topic should I have any, and if you have some free time please bookmark this topic and check in regularly to help.

I need this job to support my family. If anyone have some free time to help this poor man I greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance.

Piranha

Let me see if I understand you correctly.

You think that your thread is more important than all other threads in these forums? By putting the word URGENT (CAPITALIZED) in the topic and wanting people to look at this thread regularly you indicate that. It is not worth more than any other question, at least not to me. On the contrary, I tend to look at those questions, solve them but don't write the answer. It give me a strange sence of satisfaction to avoid answer those questions, even if I know the answer.

You think that the person that should get the job is not the one that know how to code, but the person that ask for help? I am the first to agree that it is important to ask for help, but not on this kind of tasks. It is the same for schoolwork, it is there for you to solve, not anyone else. What do you do when you get hired and they ask why you can't do the things you did in the test? Or when they ask questions about your code and you don't know why the code was like that?

You think that the company should look and hire the persons that have a family? What about me, I don't have a family, does that mean that I don't need a job?

My suggestions to you is to first read up on how to ask questions the smart way. Then do the test yourself. If there are lots of things you don't know how to solve I think it is better to be honest, you would not last long even if you got the job. If it is only small things you can't figure out it should be possible to read manuals and tutorials to solve it. And you learn at the same time.

I don't want to start a flame war, it just annoys me when people think that they are worth more than others. I won't answer your questions, it is up to everyone else how they react.

perrohunter

totally agre with Piranha

Next time use IRC for this kind discussions 😉 (j/k)

On the other hand, I think you won't have any problem with php4 to php5, if you ran across any problem just use PHP.net, the documentation is quite clear when a function changes from php4 to php5.

besides, i don't think you'll have any issues, i think you'd be in trouble if you had to move from php5 to php4 since many new functions work wonderful on php5 and the workarounds on php4 are ugly =P

Do your best, and be wiser next time on how to ask for help 😉

nrg_alpha

Wow.. just wow.. this thread is a farce.

I am in complete agreement with what Piranha said. If you are still stuck in the PHP 4 stone age, perhaps you are not qualified enough. Time to get yourself up to speed by taking the initiaives to educate yourself on PHP 5 and MySQL 5. Even if people do bookmark this topic and check back regularly to help you out, you'll look pretty cute if you get the job, then your employer finds out your skills are antiquated. Were you the kind who cheated through high school as well?

You're not the only family man who needs a job.. In case you haven't noticed, the econolapse expands outside the bounderies of your home.

Instead of declaring a thread as URGENT!!!!, and more-or-less (via bold type) commanding people to bookmark this thread and check back often, perhaps its time to do some serious soul searching and go back to the drawing board and get your skills up to speed. I realize it's not fun to be unemployed, let alone having to raise a family.. but truly, the way you have handled this thread is utterly deplorable.

bradgrafelman

@All: Okay... I think he's gotten the point about the "URGENT.." text and whatnot... no more flames, please.

@: A good portion of programming is based on how strong your logic skills are. If you can't write pseudocode, then there's no sense in trying to program something in an actual language. It's sort of like writing; if you don't know the outline of your story, then you're not going to be able to write a very good one.

Once you can get a pseudocode-type layout down (either in your head or, as I like to do it, on paper/e-paper - open notepad, and start typing ideas), it shouldn't be too hard to transform that pseudocode into PHP code (assuming you at least have a good foundation in PHP).

For example, if you have a bit in your pseudocode that says "read data from CSV" and didn't know what function to use, copy and paste that into Google, tag on a "site:php.net" (so you'd get "read data from CSV site:php.net site:php.net") and hit enter; the first result comes up as a link to the manual for fgetcsv().

EDIT: Also note that the above isn't based on any reference or text - it's just my humble opinion.