What is the best and easiest way to learn PHP, MySQL, Perl, CSS

[kayanat]

What is the best - and easiest way - to learn PHP, MySQL, Perl, CSS, and XHTML? I have a liberal arts background, and never really studied higher mathematics or computer science. However, I have got into designing basic websites for people lately, using Dreamweaver and some other WYSIWYG programs. I know I need to break out of that, and start learning the programming languages necessary to design dynamic websites and interactive e-commerce solutions. How do I get my head around programming languages like PHP, though?
______________
affiliate elite (http://www.keywordspy.com/overview/keyword.aspx?q=affiliate%20elite)

[redsox9]

The first thing I did long ago was go to the library and pick out a few web programming books to study; the ones I liked best, I went and bought copies for my own library. Later, I went online to the multitude of sites that offer hints and tips. Then it was just a matter of practice, practice, practice writing developing sites and expanding my knowledge from there.

I would not consider myself a top-notch programmer but I know enough for what I need to do. That doesn't mean I don't continue to learn, though; that was half the reason for me joining this forum. As long as you are willing to take the time to learn, you should do fine.

On top of that, perhaps you might consider taking courses through a local community college program. Best of luck!

[navsguardar]

There is nothing like writing code & testing. Have LAMP environment set up locally, pickup a book, first copy programs & see them in action.

[Vegetta]

For books i would recommend anything by Larry Ullman

his code works and is well explained.

He also has a web forum where you can discuss problems you have with the code in the book -or with coding in general.

ive been working with php for over 5 years and still have a lot to learn.

php.net can be hard to learn from but there are some really neat things you can pick up from it.

[whiteknite]

For books i would recommend anything by Larry Ullman

his code works and is well explained.

He also has a web forum where you can discuss problems you have with the code in the book -or with coding in general.

ive been working with php for over 5 years and still have a lot to learn.

php.net can be hard to learn from but there are some really neat things you can pick up from it.
From what I understand, PHP is a server side language. Does that mean that a person has to work directly on a server to study/practice/learn it? Or can we just download what we need directly onto our own PC?

[redsox9]

From what I understand, PHP is a server side language. Does that mean that a person has to work directly on a server to study/practice/learn it? Or can we just download what we need directly onto our own PC?

It is possible to install software on your PC that will allow you to review output offline - I've never done it but I do know that it's possible.

[whiteknite]

I will give it a try Redsox. Hopefully I'll be able to so I can start learning that language.
thanx

[wysiwyg]

A server is no different from your computer, it just has different software installed and (usually) higher-end hardware.

The easiest way to set up a local server is to use apache. A lamp or wamp (windows/apache/mysql/php/perl) package installs all of the components you need at once, and usually provides a method to control all of them from one place.

If you want to learn html, javascript, css, and php, there is no better place than w3schools.com (http://w3schools.com). And there's php.net (http://php.net) to look up all the functions you could ever use.

I wouldn't start on php until you're at least comfortable working with html, since you'll be using it to structure your output.

[charlesp]

It is possible to install software on your PC that will allow you to review output offline - I've never done it but I do know that it's possible.

LAMP or WAMP is one way to go. You can download and install these components individually, for free. I've tried both ways and I prefer to install the different components separately.




For books i would recommend anything by Larry Ullman

his code works and is well explained.

He also has a web forum where you can discuss problems you have with the code in the book -or with coding in general.

I took some course at a local community college and we used two of his books as text books for PHP and MySQL.

[rughooker]

I've been a member of Lynda.com for two years and I have not stopped learning yet. Watch many of the the initial videos for free. I did that and signed up right away because they were just what I needed.

[Vegetta]

It is possible to install software on your PC that will allow you to review output offline - I've never done it but I do know that it's possible.


its pretty simple to do this on a mac
http://www.entropy.ch/software/macosx/php/

[cubbieco]

I taught myself php using the php.net examples and a mini server I installed myself. Nowadays, you can download a prebuilt WAMP software on your windows box (or equivalents for whatever you are using) and just start and stop the server when you are playing with it. Google wamp and you'll find it.

mysql.com has great examples as well and I do OK with it.

[NanC]

There is an excellent 6 week computer course with Ed2Go. It was a very beneficial class if you want to learn PHP and MySQL. There are many classes there for programming, and newbies learning how to start their own sites. You can get discounts through your local college. I think the address is ed2go.com

[msafi]

As others in this thread, I also recommend Larry Ullman's books for PHP and Lynda.com for the rest of the Web skills that you'll need.

As for the ability to run and use PHP on your own computer, I use XAMPP.

You will always need support through-out your learning journey, though. For that, I recommend that you go to the IRC network Freenode. You can join chat channels like #php, #css, #javascript, #html, #apache, #mysql, #wordpress and #drupal. They all are very active, full of enthusiasts who will answer your questions instantly. For newbie questions, IRC channels are better than asking in forums because the answers are usually only one line!

Good luck,

[PremiereWebDesign]

The best advice that I can give you to your question
What is the best and easiest way to learn PHP, MySQL, Perl, CSS is that there is no easy way. Learning programming languages requires a lot of dedication and work. If you are willing to put forth the effort, you will see the rewards. If not, then you will not see the rewards.
Having said that, there are numerous books available that will get you started. One that I would highly recommend is "PHP and MySQL by Example" written by Ellie Quigley. You can preview it here (http://books.google.com/books?id=mPzUH1EPEJkC&dq=PHP+and+MySQL+by+Example&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=i0_dSYDhAYSDmAfzoOWYDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#PPP1,M1). It has some very practical lessons in it. Another good book, after you start to learn the basics is "PHP & MySQL everyday apps for dummies"
By Janet Valade. You can preview that one here (http://books.google.com/books?id=TAivKHFxpqEC&dq=PHP+and+MySql+everyday+apps+for+dummies&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=DU_dSc6LH-elmQflrbClDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#PPP1,M1).

If you want to develop on your local machine, I would suggest installing XAMPP. You can download it here (http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html). If you want more info first, visit the site here (http://www.apachefriends.org).

Additionally, I would suggest that you join HTML forums (http://www.htmlforums.com/). There are many PHP developers who frequent the site and you will gain a lot there. As Redsox 9 indicated, there is much to be learned in the different forums.
Take your time. Work through the many frustrations that you will encounter. And you will do ok.

I hope this helps you.

William

[Kloutier]

My way is not very easy but its free.

I install Joomla/Wordpress or whatever and then I play around with the code with out the admin panels and I just look for cause and affect. I also reference www.w3schools.com

[programmerq]

I started learning all these technologies about 15 years ago when I was still a kid.

I started with some basic HTML in a simple wysiwyg, and then figured out enough html code to be able to write it by hand. I recommend learning at least enough HTML to output a very simple page that uses a few different types of tags. It's always a good idea to have a feel for what you have under the hood. Once you have a grasp on structuring a simple html document, learn how to style it with css.

Once I was comfortable with html, I wanted to do more so I started learning PERL. Basically I was writing programs to write html for me. I learned how to do specific tasks such as outputting to files, sending e-mail, and accessing a database as I needed more functionality. You have to know how to write html/css before you can write a program to do it for you. PHP makes life nice in a few instances because you can just drop code into your html files.

I recommend learning one language at a time. Pick either perl or php and run with it until you can make something useful. Once you get bored with one language, do the same with the other. Some people can put the time and effort into learning two languages at once, but I end up confusing the finer details if I do that. Also, don't forget that there is another P that you can put into lamp: Python.

[seo-optimization]

There is a website W3schools[DOT]com which is very good site to learn various programming languages.

[Olybia]

Hey Guys,

This thread is exactly what I need. I am a hopeless website developer wanna be. I just subscribe into a hosting site for my own website and I so lost on where to start and hot to do it...

This thread and your posts is a life saver.

Thanks guys. I will review all the answers in the=is thread.

[Early Out]

These kinds of threads always, and I do mean always, turn into spam magnets.

Closed.