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project suggestions?

Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 1:49 pm
by turgs
im a newbie php programmer...just finished studying a book...and ready to look for a new job...

but i know my skills i not yet polished cause i have not used it in developing any projects/application...

any suggestion on what kind of project a newbie like me should start working on to see my skill progress???

Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 1:58 pm
by shiznatix
1st, chatbox
2nd, news script
3rd, image gallery
4th, forum
5th... you will figure it out.

just my sugestions.

Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 1:58 pm
by Benjamin
Create an image upload script that saves a description of each image and the file name in a MySQL database. Add the ability to categorize images.

Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 2:03 pm
by Chris Corbyn
A CMS? Or something like a personal organiser/planner? As long as you take things step-by-step you'll find a steep learning curve ;)

Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 3:04 pm
by R4000
god, you guys... this guy is new to php. "a forum" come on! not even most pro's can code a full forum.

i suggest something like:
- calculator
- time and date with GD (image)
- read and write XML file
- BASIC news system
- create a RSS feed from a MySQL database (you could even hook it up to your news script :P)

Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 3:23 pm
by Oren
I think that at first you should learn to work with files (without a database) and start with a shoutbox for example or a news script.
After that repeat this but this time using a database instead of files.

Building a shoutbox or a news script using files is not a good idea for real applications but I think you need to start with that so you will know how to work with files, and even more important than that is because this way you will learn and practice php step by step - if you don't know how to work with a database and don't know how to work with other php stuff you can't learn how to work with both of them at the same time... you won't be able to trace your errors since it might be in the database code or in the other part.

Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 6:00 pm
by R4000
Oren wrote:...Building a shoutbox or a news script using files is not a good idea for real applications...
erm cuteNews is a real application that uses files and is a news script, a fkin nice one too!

Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 6:05 pm
by John Cartwright
R4000 wrote:
Oren wrote:...Building a shoutbox or a news script using files is not a good idea for real applications...
erm cuteNews is a real application that uses files and is a news script, a fkin nice one too!
flatfiles are fine, but as far as cuteNews goes from what I remember it had some serious securities flaws..

although depending how complex or feature reach you would want your news script, in all likely hood its much better using a database.

Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 6:41 pm
by alvinphp
A forum is not all that hard. A simple one would be easy and does teach you a lot. I remember when I created my first forum and ask some people to try to break it and they hacked it to the next universe. It was quite funny and I learned a hell of a lot.

Re: project suggestions?

Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 6:50 pm
by Roja
turgs wrote:any suggestion on what kind of project a newbie like me should start working on to see my skill progress???
Any project that interests you, and will keep your interest while you work on it.

Forcing yourself to create something you don't like will only increase negative feelings that php is a chore. If you work on something you like, whether its simple, or complex, doesnt matter. It will encourage your passion for coding, and thats what you need if you are just starting out.

Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 7:47 pm
by alex.barylski
R4000 wrote:god, you guys... this guy is new to php. "a forum" come on! not even most pro's can code a full forum.

i suggest something like:
- calculator
- time and date with GD (image)
- read and write XML file
- BASIC news system
- create a RSS feed from a MySQL database (you could even hook it up to your news script :P)
Huh? I understand your angle with taking it easy on a newbie...but a "pro" should be able to program anything...

Especially something general purpose, like a CMS, Forum, etc...

You suggest a calculator?

Thats probably harder than that a trivial upload script, forum or cms... 8)

Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 8:57 pm
by Nathaniel
Hockey wrote:You suggest a calculator?

Thats probably harder than that a trivial upload script, forum or cms... 8)
Nah. PHP has all of the "calculating" functions already. It would just be a matter of interpreting a string to run them. (It would require some work.)

Of course, eval() could do it easiest, after str_replacing square root symbols, etc with the appropriate function names. But that's kinda cheap.

Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 11:22 pm
by Benjamin
I recommended an image upload script with a database backend because it would get him familiar with the following...

1. File Handling (Beginner)
2. HTML Forms
3. MySQL Inserts & Retrieval

It's not that difficult and it's diverse. I think all ya all are more focused on arguing about what is best. Just make a recommendation and say why and be done with it.

Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2006 1:07 am
by Oren
agtlewis wrote:I recommended an image upload script with a database backend because it would get him familiar with the following...

1. File Handling (Beginner)
2. HTML Forms
3. MySQL Inserts & Retrieval

It's not that difficult and it's diverse. I think all ya all are more focused on arguing about what is best. Just make a recommendation and say why and be done with it.
It's not that we are arguing for fun, everyone says what he thinks.
You see... in your suggestion he has to work with files AND a database. For you and me it may be a piece of cake but not for a newbie. If let's say something in the upload script doesn't work how will he be able to trace the error and solve the problem himself? it might be an error in the file handling code or perhaps in the database code.
The best way in my opinion is to learn how to work with each one of these separately and once you feel good and confident enough you can move on and build a more serious application which combines all you've learned.

P.S Let's don't make it a flame war as agtlewis said 8)

Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2006 6:32 am
by timvw
In my experience, when you're a beginner you usually develop only sites that are only used by yourself. The problem (or advantage if you wish for a beginner) is that the chances to experience race-conditions are a lot smaller...

Becoming a decent PHP programmer usually requires not only learning php but also html and sql (yes, afterwards one will want to become familiar with even more technologies.) Imho, if you learn html and sql first, it's easier to understand that you're using php to generate the html and sql.