Now they have completed php array and string functions mysql tables SELECT INSERT DELETE etc and are starting to learn more complex PHP functions.
What I thought was instead of teaching them boring text book stuff if I could install a real world php application like drupal, joomla, opencart, phpbb etc. I can dissect the code and explain to them how a real world application is written.
So my question to you all experts out there.
Which according to you is the best open source software/script which can be used as an example of good coding practices, which has easy to create self contained module system and which can be used as a learning platform for php and most important of all be quite easy to learn so that the students don’t abandon learning php midway and run
Drupal, joomla, opencart are all quite complex and I doubt whether introducing the students to those masterpieces at this stage will be productive at all.
I’m looking for something very simple which can be used for learning.
Hi
I would suggest you Drupal CMS as there are lots of built in complex modules and you can also download tons of modules from the drupal site, you can study those modules’ code.
For object oriented programming you can also review PHP frameworks like Zend framework, Code igniter etc.
Drupal is terrible source of learning php - too much really really bad code examples and full of bad ideas. Drupal became popular many many years ago when there was no alternatives, no decent CMS or frameworks existed. But now they are stuck with yesterdays’ code and code patterns. Drupal is a fossil, don’t teach it.
Have them all collaborate (with your participation) on writing a new CMS from the ground up. You can steal bits and piece of Drupal in order to illustrate professional coding style and line-by-line technique. But the design through implementation experience of building from scratch would be far more valuable than interacting with already-written codes.
