I know from reading what I'm writing now some of you going to say he's newbie and stuff, and I know most of my question would sound like they been asked a lot before.

I just need for you to help me get started with PHP. and well I'm so newbie. can you help me get started?

Here what i know.

They say if you know basic html, or even good with html, it will help you go on with php.. Well I know html, i did a lot of html pages before i stop coding with html.

They also say if you know C programming, it would be easy for you to learn php. Well I don't know C programming, actually I don't know any other dynamic web programing language at all. I just would like to start with php language. would it be hard to learn?

I studied only some JAVA and Small Talk programming languages.. i didn't like them. but i know that PHP is an object-oriented programming language, so it's probably having the same concepts.

Why php? well hmm.. i know at least how to install sites, deal with phpMyAdmin and i know php works perfectly with mySQL. i know all that, and also how to install an apache server and everything else.

I'm confident and i love programming, i can learn fast, and read codes trying to understand them.

I need to start even to do a simple website, like hmm this site for example.

http://www.litebreeze.com/index.php

I think it would be so simple for a php developer to do such site, it looks simple to me regarding the payment options.

BUT What skills i should have to do such a site?

We all know there's PHP4 and PHP5.. and people told me not to study PHP5 or even PHP since i missed a lot of things in earlier versions of PHP. Is that true?

Now even if i do coding part of the website, should i know how to design html templates, or even complicated designs? Should I know css? What if i know coding and i don't know how to design a page? should i just quit php?

A customer might come to me and say he already got a site, and he needs it to be developed more.. how to code more in his site, without messing it up? how to continue working on someone's else work? how to modify it all without messing up?

I just would like to learn how to code using php, build websites with it. and then start a php freelancing business.

I need a simple php book would also help to design such a page above. If you got some books please tell me their names. Pick me the easiest one.

I would like to learn asp.net.. people say it's wanted more by companies, and that would help me if i work with web development companies. But what i think is most of php components are free, and asp.net components are mostly paid components, am I right in this?

it just i think maybe in future, i would like to save my budget not to go on and buy more components like asp.net would let me do. so it's better to study PHP which has a lot of free components, am i right?

Is there any possibility to know both of php and asp.net? without forgetting or messing codes up? or even mixing both languages? i dont know how some programmers know java, asp, php, perl, python.. all together.. seriously i wonder how.

Note i'm information technology student.

Forgive me if it took you long to read.

just think, when you didn't know anything about PHP, how you got your self to become so familiar/pro with it? this would help me.

thanks in advance.

Just a refrence for you but I jumped in to PHP with only a little javascript experience and pascal experience (in high school). I'm not a pro by any means but I can usually struggle through creating a script.

As a tutorial book, I think the SAMS books are well designed. They definitely won't give you an indepth understanding of the language but they should get you jump started.

Sams - Teach yourself PHP in 24 hrs

A good reference site is php.net

zincoxide, I totally appreciate your replay.

I'm up to download some PHP e-books. I got that in mind.

But i seriously would like you or anyone here in the forums, which is so familiar with PHP to answer my questions above.

PLEASE! ANSWER ME GUYS!

i really need an answer

but i know that PHP is an object-oriented programming language, so it's probably having the same concepts.

Nope PHP is not totally OOP. It CAN be should you want to use it as such but it is not by default.

We all know there's PHP4 and PHP5.. and people told me not to study PHP5 or even PHP since i missed a lot of things in earlier versions of PHP. Is that true?

If you only learn PHP5 you will HAVE to know what is new over PHP4 because there are still lots of hosts running ver4.
If you learn PHP4, everything you code will run in ver5 upwards.

Now even if i do coding part of the website, should i know how to design html templates, or even complicated designs? Should I know css? What if i know coding and i don't know how to design a page? should i just quit php?

Yes and yes.
PHP HAS to write HTML / CSS to the browsers to produce a webpage. If you cannot code successfully in HTML all the PHP knowledge in the world won't help you produce a well designed page.
Even if your role is as a developer and turning someone else's designs into working sites you NEED HTML & CSS.

A customer might come to me and say he already got a site, and he needs it to be developed more.. how to code more in his site, without messing it up? how to continue working on someone's else work? how to modify it all without messing up?

You need to know the coding system and language(s) well enough to decipher what other people have done

I just would like to learn how to code using php, build websites with it. and then start a php freelancing business.

Get the crawling stages over first before trying to walk, never mind running.

Is there any possibility to know both of php and asp.net? without forgetting or messing codes up? or even mixing both languages? i dont know how some programmers know java, asp, php, perl, python.. all together.. seriously i wonder how.

Yep and more.
I code in ASP, PHP, VB, vbScript, VBA, Delphi (pascal), javascript plus a few others occasionally. You simply need to be able to switch focus and be very single minded about what you are doing.
That's why programmers are often seen as "weirdos". 24 hours a day you have code running round your head (or maybe that's just me )

You know this was the best help ever.

The thing is i should know html/css before i go on with PHP.. and to start with PHP4 which can work very well with PHP5 and PHP6.

I got all that.. and all i can say that programming is a big goal to me.

I think i spent more time on thinking of new ways to come up with new websites, and giving those ideas to freelancers in order for them to develop them.. instead i could've tried to build those sites on my own if i learned to deal with dynamic languages like PHP.

Do you have links to html/css e-books?

And also what is the best book you think it's out there for learning PHP for beginners?

If you got an e-book for php beginners please provide me the links?


THANKS

Originally Posted by chrishirst

That's why programmers are often seen as "weirdos". 24 hours a day you have code running round your head (or maybe that's just me )

Haha I thought I was the only one... I will wake up and have a whole application coded all in my head! lol

Originally Posted by Quicko

Do you have links to html/css e-books?

And also what is the best book you think it's out there for learning PHP for beginners?

If you got an e-book for php beginners please provide me the links?


THANKS

I can't recommend any newer books since most of my books are atleast 5 years old, but the SAMs books are good... "For Dummies" series might have book on php..

The best thing you could do is go to a library and read the first chapter out of a few books...all books are written differently and one might be better for you than another.

I dont know any good eBooks, but if you want to learn online, try W3Schools.com tutorials. Then join a php specific forum like phpBuilder.com (they also have numerous articles and tutorials) and ask a lot of questions. Once you have a grasp of the basic syntax and phps abilities... start programming.. always try something that looks hard... its the only way to learn since most of what you will learn will not be from books... rather you will learn it when you need it!

And of course, I always use php.net for reference.

Sam

Thanks for the great advice.. I'll register in that forum, it looks pretty good forum.