Where to get started

Anon

I am in need of some help here. I am in web design and my company just decided they want some new back end features. I was told PHP could do what I wanted so I came here. I barely know square one about this stuff so where do I get started?

I need to make a search query that looks through a databse of phone numbers. I\'d need to be able to search by the city or the first six digits of their phone number.

amcgrath

Well, Neo, I'd say you are pretty much in a tight spot...

My suggestion to you is search this site's articles, there are a bunch that inderectly relate to what you are looking for. But, more to the point, I think you might want to learn from the top down: how to installl PHP on your system and initiate a database connection. Next, you'll need to know PHP syntax for communicating with that database (you never said what product it was). You'll also need to have idea as to the query you want to pass to the database, not to mention how to get those variables in the first place.

Honestly, I'd say you've got a little bit of a long way to go. If you have some semblemance of an idea as to how web programming works, you'll probably have something by the end of the week. ZGood Luck.

Anon

Hello Neo!

I can help you.
Please, write me on E-mail.
We'll discuss you problems.

Best regards, San.

Anon

Get Julie Melonie's book "PHP Fast and Easy".

If you know at least one programming language similar to php like perl, python, etc. or better yet if you know C, C++, then you'll brease through her book in a day or so, and after you finish this book you'll know how to do what you want to do!

knickerlas

Do I see a vulture circling overhead?

Allens right of course, you have a little way to go (don't we all though!)

This may or may not help you

http://www.webmasterbase.com/article/563

It's pretty much just a list of resources so maybe you'll see something that'l help

Hood luck

Nick

knickerlas

Hey! Must have been posting at the same time as Di.

Just read his post and have to say that I also own that book and found it to be an inaccurate bag of poo. In fact I was so dissapointed I reviewed it on amazon and said pretty much the same thing.

Nick

Anon

Nick,

The book has to be valued for what it is - > it is a newbie book. "PHP Fast and Easy" is intended for the rank amature, somebody who just starts with php.

I liked this book, because it was an excellent tutorial, that introduces new php programmer to the various aspects of the language.

As far as

"...found to be an inaccurate bag of poo." comment concerned... C'mon...

Every single example I did - worked! Yes, there were some errors, but www.thickbook.com provides errata.

Book being a tutorial covers core php, installing php/mysql/apache mix, cookies, regular expressions, sessions, and etc... for 20 bucks it's a great deal!

If you already knew the stuff before you bought the book, then yes -> the book might seem worthless, but for an individual who is new to php the book is a great start!!!

I bought it from amazon, reviewed it on amazon and gave it 5 stars.

I started with php on January 2001 with this book, right now I am writing 5000 + line applications. Book gave me a good start.

Seems to me, Nick, that if people bestow their criticism on others, there must be valid and justified reasons for doing so.

Anon

It had errors, lots of them.
That's enough for me to slate it.

Nick