Scott Johnson is back today with another podcast, this time, focusing on methods for learning PHP. It's targeted at the very beginner level (PHP) developer to provide them with the tools and knowledge they'd need to advance in the language.
Ok then. That's like fate to a blogger telling you what to write and rather than JAT (yet another tutorial) I put together a podcast about how you can learn PHP. Not recommended for anyone who knows how to program but if you ever wanted to this will tell you how you can learn php (or any programming language).
He recommends three steps to follow to help you on your way:
- purchase/borrow the Sams Publishing book from Luke Welling and Laura Thomson, "PHP and MySQL Web Development"
- listen to the podcast he's created
- and the most important step of all - code (practice).
People without experience in programming tend to think that you need ot learn everything about the language first, then try to go code something in it. Unfortunately, they realize (sometimes after a lot of work already) that that's just not the way to go.
Find a project - simple or hard - just find one. Even if you don't know the "best" way to do it, try. It can only help, and trust me, you'll learn more from doing than just reading any day. The book is a great starting place, and good for examples, but the real learning happens when developers do what they're meant to do - develop.
