The best way to begin with PHP

real_killaz

Hi there fellow PHP-ers,

Hope I've posted this in the correct forum!!

I want to start programming in PHP to develop PHP application for a website I have!!
I discover this great language like a couple of months ago. I have been reading lot of documentations!! And I have to say there's so much that I don't know what is the best and right way to begin making apps for my website!

I mean do I need to begin by using OOP or just the "normal" way?? I want to start by making a big customized Content Management System applications for my site and want to start by doing it the right!! It has to be portable and felixible!!

I'm afraid that I'm considering to much things!! Can anyone of you give me some advice how to start!?? What have you learned of your newbie mistakes...?? I'm sort of perfectionist :-)

Hope you can give me some advice.

Anon

The OOP vs. Procedual is a good question...
Personally when I was self teaching I used procedual, and now I still use it.
I found my biggest help was "SAMS Teach Yourself PHP in 24 hours".

~ Gate ~
~ Carl Heaton ~

mikesgt2

I wopuld definatly reccomend that book, it takes you through the basics really well. From that I was able to develop myself and now I have made my own forum.

I wouldn't start off with OOP because it is a bit more complex. In terms of your contant managment, I would not try and start too complicated. Start making somthing simpler like a news system and then go from there.

Anon

This could also help you get started:

"PHP Fast & Easy Web Development" by Julie Meloni. The book is basically two parts, an intro to PHP, all the way to making an FTP client, and MySQL database techniques in the second half. Very easy to read and apply, and you could get thru it in two weeks or so, if you work at it.

As far as "procedural" vs. OOP. I have mixed feelings about this too. Since PHP and the web does not really lend itself to dynamic pages (meaning nothing is done until the user visits the next page) I am mainly still the procedural type programmer.

I would love to be able to use the OOP techniques that I use in a language like Visual Basic. And maybe that will be available someday. We'll just have to wait and see.

But at least Sessions can help fill that gap for now.

Hope that helps.