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Delving into PHP

Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 9:01 am
by TheHappyPeanut
Hi guys,

My name is John and I have been interested in learning PHP for quite some time. I currently specialize in HTML/CSS and I would really like to learn PHP so that I could begin working on a new personal project. I was wondering if you guys could lend me some advice! :)

1. What software do you use? I've read Notepad++ works well and Zend Studio. Personally, I've always used Notepad++ for coding, but I'm not sure how much it limits a person who is going to attempt a larger-scale project in the future.

2. What were your favorite sites for learning PHP in the beginning?

Re: Delving into PHP

Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 9:10 am
by Celauran
1. You'll do better with a proper IDE than with a simple editor. I like NetBeans. Others prefer Eclipse or PHPStorm. Try them out, see which works best for you.

2. Read this, then this. The PHP Manual is, of course, an invaluable resource. I'm sure you're already aware as you have a background in HTML/CSS, but stay the hell away from w3schools.

Re: Delving into PHP

Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 9:15 am
by social_experiment
TheHappyPeanut wrote:. What software do you use? I've read Notepad++ works well and Zend Studio. Personally, I've always used Notepad++ for coding, but I'm not sure how much it limits a person who is going to attempt a larger-scale project in the future.
I use Notepad++ and i haven't had any problems with it; i'm not sure i understand the second part of your question, could you clarify?
TheHappyPeanut wrote:2. What were your favorite sites for learning PHP in the beginning?
If you are just starting out you could have a look at this url
http://devzone.zend.com/6/php-101-php-f ... -beginner/
I haven't used it myself so i cannot testify to it's value.

The php.net site is also worth visiting (and book-marking) as it is useful to refer back to if you don't understand something php like a specific function.

Re: Delving into PHP

Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 9:29 am
by TheHappyPeanut
social_experiment wrote:
TheHappyPeanut wrote:. What software do you use? I've read Notepad++ works well and Zend Studio. Personally, I've always used Notepad++ for coding, but I'm not sure how much it limits a person who is going to attempt a larger-scale project in the future.
I use Notepad++ and i haven't had any problems with it; i'm not sure i understand the second part of your question, could you clarify?
TheHappyPeanut wrote:2. What were your favorite sites for learning PHP in the beginning?
If you are just starting out you could have a look at this url
http://devzone.zend.com/6/php-101-php-f ... -beginner/
I haven't used it myself so i cannot testify to it's value.

The php.net site is also worth visiting (and book-marking) as it is useful to refer back to if you don't understand something php like a specific function.
When I said I wasn't sure how well Notepad++ would scale for larger projects, I was considering its simplicity. You don't have the ability to create projects and it doesn't keep track of your file structures (unless I missed that feature, which is possible because I've only used it for PSD to HTML).

Re: Delving into PHP

Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 9:36 am
by social_experiment
TheHappyPeanut wrote:When I said I wasn't sure how well Notepad++ would scale for larger projects, I was considering its simplicity. You don't have the ability to create projects and it doesn't keep track of your file structures (unless I missed that feature, which is possible because I've only used it for PSD to HTML).
i see; i've used dreamweaver before and one of it's biggest issues for me was the fact that it uses too much resources, possibly due to all the additional feature it offers, it also lets you create projects and manage file structures

Edit
Accidently quoted myself instead of TheHappyPeanut :oops:

Re: Delving into PHP

Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 2:36 pm
by greyhoundcode
I'm not a Notepad++ user - at least I haven't used it for quite a while now - but I gather it can be extended through various plugins to bolt on all sorts of capabilities. Personally, I use a mix of Sublime and PhpEd according to my mood and what I'm working on.

I know a lot of people shun IDEs as sluggish beasts but I find many of the time saving features they offer, from intelligent code completion through to well integrated debugging, are simply invaluable.

Re: Delving into PHP

Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 5:54 pm
by TheHappyPeanut
I believe I am going to use Eclipse. Once I install Eclipse, I believe I need to install things such as phpMyAdmin, MySQL, PHP, and Apache. Are there any good programs that do all of this?

Re: Delving into PHP

Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 6:12 pm
by Celauran
TheHappyPeanut wrote:I believe I am going to use Eclipse. Once I install Eclipse, I believe I need to install things such as phpMyAdmin, MySQL, PHP, and Apache. Are there any good programs that do all of this?
They should all be in your distribution's repositories, so use your regular package manager. If you're not using Linux, do yourself a favour and install a distro inside a virtual machine to act as your test server.

Re: Delving into PHP

Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 6:31 pm
by TheHappyPeanut
Do you know where I can learn to install a virtual machine on my system? I am running Windows 7.

Re: Delving into PHP

Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 7:54 pm
by Celauran
It's just a piece of software like any other. There's really nothing to learn. Take a look at VirtualBox.

Re: Delving into PHP

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 1:01 am
by TheHappyPeanut
I installed NetBeans + WAMP and localhost/phpMyAdmin are both working. However, when I attempted to run an example PHP script, it said this:

Not Found

The requested URL /Example-1/index.php was not found on this server.


Any idea what I did wrong? It was attempting to access http://localhost/Example-1/index.php

Re: Delving into PHP

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 5:39 am
by Celauran
TheHappyPeanut wrote:Any idea what I did wrong?
You installed WAMP.

Re: Delving into PHP

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 5:47 am
by TheHappyPeanut
That's rather vague.

Re: Delving into PHP

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 5:51 am
by Celauran
Windows + PHP = endless headaches. It's not for nothing I recommended using LAMP in a virtual machine. Admittedly, this sounds more like an Apache misconfiguration than a PHP error per se.

Re: Delving into PHP

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 6:12 am
by TheHappyPeanut
It's weird because localhost shows up fine, but when I try to run my project it says the file cannot be found.