How long did it take you with PHP?

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Zmodem
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Post by Zmodem »

I picked up PHP in about a week. I came from a strong C background, so learning the language went smootly/quickly for me.

Don't get me wrong though. 2 years later, I still use the manual to look stuff up. The learning never stops!

--cheers
nitramoc
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2 1/2 years

Post by nitramoc »

I have been using PHP almost daily for 2 and a half years... I would say I have an extremly good knowlege of the language inside and out. Its more about design and techniques now more then anything at this point.
JPlush76
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Post by JPlush76 »

nitra, do you find you just program from memory or are you still looking at the books for syntax and little details?
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protokol
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Post by protokol »

jplush, most of the advanced coders code from memory. I would say that the only reason we look something up is to find the syntax of a certain function that php provides. That's why the manual at php.net is always referred to. If you need to find something, it is there.

As for techniques and design, the best way to establish good coding habits is to code a lot and look at other people's code to learn what to do and also what not to do ;)
JPlush76
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Post by JPlush76 »

thats the step I'm at now, I've learned how to pretty do everything (except classes) so far but coding properly is the key I'm going for.

trying to make sure I comment and make it look and function clean and efficient
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protokol
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Post by protokol »

Classes are very cool. Right now (up through PHP 4.2.2), the OOP in PHP is not that great. It works, but it doesn't work as well as it could. I believe PHP 5 will be incorporating much more OOP capabilities and much more optimization.

But definitely learn how to do OOP. It is a great tool to make writing code and designing a solution to your problem about a million times easier.
JPlush76
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Post by JPlush76 »

do you find you only use it in big projects or small ones as well?
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protokol
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Post by protokol »

Well, classes are always best for the large projects. It helps keep things encapsulated and easier to work with if done right. For small projects, classes can be very useful also, but if the project is so small that a few functions will suffice instead of creating objects, then go for the functions.
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phice
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Post by phice »

Still dont know everything I want to know about PHP... And probably never will.
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sam
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Post by sam »

I was born a PHP prodigy... errr. no but I was coding a lot in C++/Java and I thought I'd give PHP a try... the hardest part to get the hang of was mysql syntax, and I will contine learning that until the day I die.

Cheers Sam
JPlush76
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Post by JPlush76 »

sam, you should get this t-shirt to help you remember :)
lol

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thinkgeek.com has some funny shirts :)
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sam
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Post by sam »

I have wanted one of those for a long time, but food seams to be more important to my flatmates. :roll:

:arrow: And I am proficient with SQL now, I would say I know more SQL than I do php.

Cheers Sam
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m3mn0n
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Post by m3mn0n »

i've been at it for 4 days and i can say with great convidence i have no idea what the hell i'm doing! ;)

i will get it with time, like i did with HTML, and with you pros all around, i'm sure i will make the transformation from newbie to Programmer within months :D
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hob_goblin
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Post by hob_goblin »

i got tired of using hosted guestbooks and things like that from bravenet, so i decided i wanted a website so i could use other ones. once i did that, i wanted to tweak them. once i did that, i wanted to write my own.

i had the basics down in a couple weeks, but i am still learning, i would say i have a pretty good knowledge of things, but i will just continue helping people and optimizing things.

considering i'm 14, im considered probably the geekiest kid at school, despite my appearance.
JPlush76
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Post by JPlush76 »

good lord 14? you'll be the next bill gates at your rate :)
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