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Starting on php

Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 3:07 am
by Lurien
Do you remember those old days, when you did not even know what SQL meant? Those days when you thought that coding php was just typing <? look, I am a coder ?> and it was done?
No?
Well, I am really happy for you, unluckly, I have those days now :oops:
I want to start coding php, still the only two lenguages I handle so far are Pascal and HTML.
I¡ve searched all the web for a good way to start, and in 3 days of it, I cannot make apache run nor compile Php.
To make things even funnier, the link in the 'tutorial's is broken.
So, can you help me?

Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 3:09 am
by Lurien
/me realizes the question was not clear

How do I start? Where can I find a good tutorial to install some SQL+PHP+Apache?
What other thing do I need to start learning?

Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 3:26 am
by Maugrim_The_Reaper
The simplest way to set up a LAMP/WAMP server environment is to use a prebuilt binary package. I'm a big fan of XAMPP. I also suggest buying a PHP book which covers all the basics, offers examples and tests, covers Object Oriented Programming in PHP (OOP is up the learning curve but worth getting there). It might also be useful to get a small introductory text/tutorials on using SQL in MySQL - it's actually a very simple language (tiny even) and it's used a lot on PHP applications.

You must (not should) get a copy of the PHP manual if working offline and keep it updated. It's the one reference you will always use regardless of your level of experience.

There's a helper topic over at viewtopic.php?t=21400 also.

One good method of getting some early experience is to set your sights on writing a small application. Usually a simple blog or news site is a good choice - it's generally small enough that you can tinker around with it as you learn new things. I also suggest keeping security in mind - it's not essential when you first start out - but find some material on it before you start making public sites. http://phpsec.org/projects/guide/ and http://shiflett.org/articles are good general starting points.

Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 3:29 am
by Lurien
Thank you very much, I'll start right away ^-^

Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 3:37 am
by JayBird
You may aslo want to read this on our forum - PHP Starter Pack - Fundamental PHP Know-How

Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 4:24 am
by Lurien
Well, I installed XAMPP and set up everything. Apache couldn't be installed due t firewall, so I kicked firewall off.
Went to the configuration, clicked on "Admin..." and then tested what the site asked me to test.
And yet... there is no way that my pc will compile PHP :oops:
What can I do?

Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 4:30 am
by Maugrim_The_Reaper
XAMPP should have PHP preconfigured and packaged as a binary - i.e. Once you start up XAMPP, PHP should be redy to go. It's possible you need to enable PHP via XAMPP's config panel (Windows) or a lampp command from your linux shell. Check the XAMPP help on getting started - should be covered.

You don't need to compile anything with XAMPP...

Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 5:20 am
by Lurien
C:\program files\xampp\htdocs\index.php <---- I run that and it says "something is wrong with the instalation" in the browser's window...
I tried unsinstalling it and re installing but it made no diference...
Should I format my pc?

Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 5:27 am
by Maugrim_The_Reaper
Any other server versions installed from your prior attempts?

Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 6:20 pm
by Lurien
Not at all, It's my first try in coding out of HTML and Pascal

Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 9:24 pm
by Lurien
Thank you a LOT for your help. It is working now, just ope to be able to help someone get started just as you did for me

Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 3:39 am
by Maugrim_The_Reaper
Have fun :). You're welcome.