Question from Someone Re-Entering the Web Development Scene

PHP
1

A Quick Background
I haven’t touched web dev for quite a while
(since 2007), but I’ve been programming ever
since (exposed to diff platforms).

The Issue At Hand
I’ve recently decided to get back to web as
this is what I really want to do.

Problem is there’s a huge disparity of web
technologies since I left the web dev scene.

The Burning Question
Any suggestions/insights as to what’s the
best and reasonably fast way to refresh my
knowledge and build my portfolio?
(I have zero portfolio)

Stuff like suggestions on what do I need to
learn and in what order.

Currently I’m refreshing my basic knowledge
on XHTML, CSS, PHP, and MySQL just to get
me started.

Your thoughts on this is much appreciated. :wink:

2

I was somewhat out of it for a while, I came back, and now every website uses wordpress. Haha, but in all seriousness - for web developers it’s seeming like jQuery library in javascript is an absolute must. Most job advertisements I’m seeing require a developer with experience in jQuery, as well as advanced knowledge in either wordpress, drupal, joomla, or magento (ecommerce cms).

3

Exactly!

Are you back in the Web Development scene now?

How did you go about retooling yourself?

4

Since PHP5 acceptance of PHP OOP capabilities has brought a rush of requirements for those with OOP skills.

Learning the syntax is quite easy but learning how to do it properly is non-trivial, many jobs require you to understand at least one MVC-based Framework.

Ditto emergence of JQuery, and of course these days, mobile.

5

I am, unfortunately my self taught broken version of learning the web (ie - who cares just jump into coding) has left me a bit off kilter, however I was able to gain my ground.

Looking at old code was pretty useless for me since I didn’t comment anything(another thing I’ve since learned to do :P), I just jumped back into learning the basics, php.net was my best friend, since then I perused forums daily - and as cups mentioned, MVC frameworks are a bit of a craze, so I decided to hop on the CodeIgniter train and try it out, and I love it.

6

@Cups - Yes there’s never been a better time to apply OOP in PHP
since 5.3 came in the picture.

Which brings me to thinking that a lot of PHP tuts and books in
circulation maybe outdated at most?

Then again, I can always put two and two together and apply
OOP principles from languages like Java.

Thanks for the 2 cents. Much appreciated!

7

@Zurev - Lol :smiley: That brings back memories of my
early years in programming. But like you, I’ve learned
my lessons.

From my observations MVC frameworks are indeed the
norm nowadays.

I will definitely jump on one once I give myself a refresher
on the basics again.

Also, OOP principles and modularization techniques
should be the next thing to learn?

But I don’t want to overwhelm myself right off the bat.
It’s back to basics for me for now I guess.

I really appreciate your input here.

Thanks!

8

I think a lot depends upon your target role for yourself because there are jobs out there for mainly front end work where some PHP is needed where you don’t need to be some kind of OOP guru, or DBA.

Some PHP and jQuery seems to do well (assuming DOM/JS/HTML/CSS skills here of course).

9

I may be dabbling more on the engineering role
where software design is critical.

But a simpler answer would be I’d fancy myself
somewhere between front and back ends.

It’s just the way I am inclined with…

…right and left brain thingy.

10

I had no idea coding JavaScript and coding PHP used different sides of the brain. What is in between the front and back ends anyway? :slight_smile:

11

Lol :lol:

I guess I was referring to the Design (righty) and
the Coding (lefty).

Must be my bad.

Cool site though. :wink: