There can be many factors in the decision to learn PHP online or to take a class in-person, and for some, this can be a difficult decision to make. This article discusses the pros and cons of each method of PHP training to help you find the learning method that is going to suit your needs best. PHP isn't a new programming language, and there is a wealth of information on it on the web for every level of proficiency. The question is whether these resources alone are sufficient to get you up-and-running with PHP quickly.

For the "online" section advantages include flexible schedules and more up to date content. The disadvantages are things like a prerequisite knowledge of using computers/the training software and that the instructor might only have "set hours" to answer questions and offer help. The "classroom" option advantages include the motivation of a regular meeting time and fewer technology hurdles to overcome. Disadvantages include the need for a time/in-person commitment and that the focus might be higher level than needed to appeal to a more mass audience.

As an Authorize.Net blogger, I decided to write a series of articles that outlined not only the basics of handling an ecommerce transaction, but also included some best practices as well. These were demonstrated using a web-based payment form that when complete forms a real-world, production ready solution. Since there was a lot of ground to cover, I broke the tutorial into eleven parts.

Parts of the series cover topics like:

• reading/sanitizing data
• handling validation errors
• preventing duplicate submissions
• preventing automated form submissions

For those that want to jump straight into the code, he also links to his sample payment form and the Authorize.net PHP SDK.

PHP has several [three] new documentation features that the community should be aware of.

They've introduced the following:

• PHP manual pages (man pages) - pman - installed via PEAR
• An enhanced CHM (Windows help) version of the manual with user notes
• The Online Documentation Editor allowing edits from anyone.

PHPanywhere is a web based free Integrated Development Environment or IDE for the PHP language, in other words it is an application that gives developers all the code editing capabilities they need to develop PHP applications online. It includes a real-time syntax code editor with support for all web formats and a powerful FTP editor.

You can add in FTP servers and pull files directly from them to edit and upload back over. You can also use the project sharing to allow others to see the current state of your code (real-time collaboration is "coming soon"). You can see screenshots of the editor interface, setting up FTP sites and modifying permissions for the files.

From my experience, one key to a successful online community is the sort of magic that happens between community members that keeps it vibrant and growing. You can't force that kind of magic, and you can't clone it. It just happens.

She points out just a few of the resources you and your groups can use to help get others involved including wikis, mailing lists, IRC channels (I hear Freenode is nice) and twitter. She also gives specific examples of PHP-related community resources she's involved in like the PHPBuilder.com forums, her local PHP user group and the PHPWomen group.

What makes a community tick? [...] I'm no psychologist, but I can offer up a few words of advice for those struggling to grow their community or find that magic. Lay all your cards out on the table and see which ones gather momentum. [...] Let the group grow naturally and remember the complexity of the group dynamics is what dictates how the group will gel, not the leader.

Besides the official documentation and the Quickstart, there are many useful resources for Zend Framework, like blogs and Twitter. I did my best to collect them. If you know something that's not listed here, but should be, please leave a comment and I'll update the post.

He has three categories right now - blogs of well-known developers of the framework and outspoken proponents of it, Twitter users you can follow that talk about/might help with issues that could come up and some of the books that have been published on the topic. There's also an "Other" category with mentions of IRC channels, the ZF wiki and the ZF forum.

I decided that I wanted to take the test about 2 1/2 months ago. The first thing I did was visit the site and learn more about the exam itself. I discovered it covers almost every facet of the language and its use. [...] It's been mentioned before and I agree that none of these resources [websites, books, etc] alone are enough to make you feel confident going into the test. Rather, a combination of each resource should be taken advantage of to feel fully prepared.

He specifically mentions two books - the official Zend guide and the php|architect study guide - as well as some of the online testing he went through.

On the real test, he warns those looking to task it in the future of a few things - the trick questions, code blocks and some of the tougher subjects to watch out for.

I am glad to announce about "PHP Fundamentals", a new course I have developed few months ago and recently completed to refine its slides and assignments. This course is available for free at www.abelski.com. This new course overviews the basic topics in PHP and reflects a practical approach for learning this language.

This post to his blog includes the PDF files for each of the sections in the course - everything from the "PHP Basics" out to "Exception Handling" and "The Standard PHP Library".

Zend Technologies, The PHP Company, continues its series of free online seminars started in early 2007.The so-called "Webinars" are aimed at anyone interested in PHP - web developers, consultants, project managers and technical decision makers. Topics include PHP as well as specific solutions and the tools Zend offers for enterprise-use of this programming language.

You can get more information on the events from the Zend website but here's a few to give you an idea: "Zend Cargo and Present: Using PHP to Build a Mobile Internet Platform", "Get Rich Quick: Building Ajax-based RIAS with Zend Framework and Appcelerator" and "i5 - Application Lifecycle Management for the Enterprise".

All of the webinars are free and, if you miss a session and you want to catch up, you can always download it from their archive.

I've had many request for access to the videos either on a DVD or in a downloadable format for viewing offline. So after many months of brushing it off, I now have the videos for you.

The download version will cost you about $20 USD and the DVD is around $30 USD. Of course, you're still free to watch them online as many times as you'd like.