Lost job to outsourcing i want to learn php, first step help
Posted: Sun Oct 17, 2010 2:33 pm
I realize that this is a place to come, once you have read all the tutorials & completed your homework. However I am 35 years old, I just lost my job at a call (pc support) center to outsourcing in India. I habor no ill will toward anyone. My name is Jeffrey, I am a single father, I realize It's now on me, to take care of my 12 year old & 10 year old. I have spent every dollar, I no longer have gas to even get to job interview, I am tapped out. I don't want anyone to take pity on me & I am not looking for charity. Just consider this my introduction to the forum. Though I lack money, and opportunities for employment at the moment, I do have an internet connection, I do have a computer, I do have a basic understanding of programming (in theory), & I do have time to learn. So I consider myself lucky in that respect, I have time....And I am willing to learn.
I have always had an interest in programming. PHP seems to me like one that I can understand & learn quicker than others. It's logic just seems easier, has a "better flow" to it. It's a very beautiful language, it absolutely intrigues me.
My main issue with learning programming (no matter the language) before I lost my job & when it was a "hobby" is that I played with it, once every few months. I got to the "Hello World" stage & lost interest because It never really got past that. I could never get something "useful" or something that "kept my interest" from the beginning stages. I am more of a "Jump right in" type of person. I am a visual learner & have concentration issues, so never seem to make it past the "hello world"
So yesterday, my friend Sharon (she works for a non-profit organization) approached me online & asked me to program a script. I see this as my chance to finally get into a language, learn it & hopefully turn it into a profession, or to help people (at the very last)
She runs a social network page for her .org. The site has an incredibly long domain name & long directories. So when her org updates their blog or adds a page to the site they want all their friends to see, she uses short URL services. For some reason, some times these short URL's get deleted, or sent to a "this link is no longer available" page. So every day she has to login her account, and check her latest link to see if its still working.
This is where I hope to get a start. I need to write a code, to navigate to her social networking page, lets call it http://space-book,com/nonprofitorg. Then search for the short url link she has on her page, lets say its called http://shortest-url,com. Then navigate to that shortest-url link & make sure it reaches the non-profit domain. I am open to ways to recognize the final step. A line of text in the body, text in the title, something like that, that assures me her shortest-url is correctly re-directing to her non-profit organization.
I just want her to be able to go to my personal link lets call it "jeffreywilham2,com" & have a file/directory like "jeffreywilham2,com/sharon/index.php" and have the page say "Your link is working!" in green....or output in Red "Your link shortest-url.com/123abc has errored, you need to fix it Sharon!"
If someone is willing to post a sample code to get me started, I am quite sure that I will be able to take it & run. You will have given me the greatest gift of all, an example, that will lead to my understanding of programming. And you will be helping out Sharon too.
Thanks for hearing me out & I appreciate any help with this first code of mine!
I have always had an interest in programming. PHP seems to me like one that I can understand & learn quicker than others. It's logic just seems easier, has a "better flow" to it. It's a very beautiful language, it absolutely intrigues me.
My main issue with learning programming (no matter the language) before I lost my job & when it was a "hobby" is that I played with it, once every few months. I got to the "Hello World" stage & lost interest because It never really got past that. I could never get something "useful" or something that "kept my interest" from the beginning stages. I am more of a "Jump right in" type of person. I am a visual learner & have concentration issues, so never seem to make it past the "hello world"
So yesterday, my friend Sharon (she works for a non-profit organization) approached me online & asked me to program a script. I see this as my chance to finally get into a language, learn it & hopefully turn it into a profession, or to help people (at the very last)
She runs a social network page for her .org. The site has an incredibly long domain name & long directories. So when her org updates their blog or adds a page to the site they want all their friends to see, she uses short URL services. For some reason, some times these short URL's get deleted, or sent to a "this link is no longer available" page. So every day she has to login her account, and check her latest link to see if its still working.
This is where I hope to get a start. I need to write a code, to navigate to her social networking page, lets call it http://space-book,com/nonprofitorg. Then search for the short url link she has on her page, lets say its called http://shortest-url,com. Then navigate to that shortest-url link & make sure it reaches the non-profit domain. I am open to ways to recognize the final step. A line of text in the body, text in the title, something like that, that assures me her shortest-url is correctly re-directing to her non-profit organization.
I just want her to be able to go to my personal link lets call it "jeffreywilham2,com" & have a file/directory like "jeffreywilham2,com/sharon/index.php" and have the page say "Your link is working!" in green....or output in Red "Your link shortest-url.com/123abc has errored, you need to fix it Sharon!"
If someone is willing to post a sample code to get me started, I am quite sure that I will be able to take it & run. You will have given me the greatest gift of all, an example, that will lead to my understanding of programming. And you will be helping out Sharon too.
Thanks for hearing me out & I appreciate any help with this first code of mine!