Head first PHP & MySQL

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1. jamesbfbJan 2024
   > But thing I miss from back then, was the feeling that the book was going to be the key to getting you started writing whatever crazy idea you had for a program in your head.

   Yes! I miss it too. For me, that book was Head First PHP & MySQL[0] - Late 2000's, I was living and working in Thailand for a family friends small logistics company in the capacity of a BA, trying to move them into this century. We were trying to find a vendor for any system that would allow us to keep track of the movements of shipping containers within a container yard, and something sparked and I thought "hey, I did a semester of programming at Uni, how hard can it be?!", over the span of the next 6 months or so, this book helped me put together a solution that scarily, they are still using to this day.

   Fast-forward 15ish years and here I am, still cutting code, although in the capacity of a dev lead, but after all that, I have the book to thank.

   [0]https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/head-first-php/97805961...

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2. salukiMar 2020
   What country are you in? I would check your job listings and see what is in demand. Do you know anyone who is a developer. Finding a job usually comes through your network. So see if anyone knows a developer or works at a company that might hire you.

   I would lean toward Rails(ruby) or Laravel (PHP).

   Those are frameworks. Laravel might even be more in demand now and easier to get in to.

   If you're just getting started learn some HTML and CSS. Head First HTML and CSS is a good book.

   Next they have a Head First PHP and MySQL book that is good.

   Once you completed those start building some simple apps on your own. Sign up for a basic hosting account and learn about setting up a domain, pointing the A record to the server, etc. FTP the files up.

   After that signup for Laracasts.com, there are great tutorials, sign up for a Github account, start going through the courses on Laracasts.

   I would recommend using a macbook if possible, or start saving up for one or see if someone can pass a used one along to you, it just makes the tutorials easier. When I've tried to use windows in the past it's possible but seems like you run in to windows only issues that take hours to resolve on a regular basis.

   For hosting at this point go through the laracast tutorial on Forge, it's a server setup/deployment tool, it makes setting up droplets on Digital Ocean for Laravel super easy. If you're just learning you could sign up for a trial and just learn how to spin up the server, you could still ssh in to the droplet and deploy with the command line after you cancel your forge subscription.

   So going through these steps you should have a pretty good handle on setting up websites and starting to develop web applications. You'll probably still need someone to recommend you that knows you and works at a company.

   Good luck.

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3. salukiFeb 2019
   Check out the book Head First HTML and CSS. It gives you a great foundation and is interesting to follow along the way.

   Get a basic hosting account, register a domain, learn how to setup a website use FTP.

   Next go through the book Head First PHP and MySQL, it will give you a basic foundation in forms and databases.

   After that go through Headfirst Javascript, then Headfirst jQuery.

   Signup for a github account, checkout ways to deploy websites without FTP, explore Vue and React.

   At that point you could start learning frameworks like Rails, Laravel if you want to create web applications. Pick out something you need/would use, it will make it more interesting.

   Good luck, enjoy the ride.

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4. salukiNov 2018
   I think the Head First O'Reilly books are a great foundation.

   This is my general recommendation to friends and family wanting to learn web development.

   Head First HTML & CSS is what he should focus on first.

   As he is working through the book have him purchase a domain, setup a website on something like hostgator. That's a great learning experience.

   After that book I'd recommend Head First PHP & MySQL.

   At this point he could probably setup websites for small local businesses. There are usually lots of local businesses who need a website. Use html/css templates for the design of sites.

   Then he can move on to the Head First Javascript then jQuery.

   I would create some type of web application using PHP and MySQL so he can see how they work. Maybe a project useful to him to play around with. I would recommend using the bootstrap css framework for the app.

   Up till this point deploying with FTP is fine. But this would be a good time to learn about using and deploying with GIT (Github, Bitbucket and GitLab).

   After that he could start looking at frameworks, I like Rails (Ruby) and Laravel (PHP).

   There is RailsCast.com and LaraCasts.com that are great sites for learning those two frameworks.

   After you have the framework basics down and has built a few traditional applications then is a good time to learn Vue or React.

   I would also have him pickup a last gen macbook air on sale if he's not a mac user. Rails and Laravel development is just easier on mac. When I was trying to learn Rails on windows I would literally spend more time working around issues with windows than the actual tutorial.

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5. salukiJan 2017
   Nice that you have a connection to get your foot in the door at your Dad's plant. Customer #1.

   The path I would recommend to learn full stack development.

   Go through the books Head First HTML and CSS (get an inexpensive hosting account you can FTP files to and setup some domains, point to your hosting), next go through Head First PHP and mySQL. Next is Headfirst Javascript then Headfirst jQuery.

   After those you should sign up for teamtreehouse.com.

   You could play around with developing this in PHP without a framework, setting up a login in system you would learn a lot. Sometimes frameworks are tough to understand what all the magic is happening behind the scenes if you haven't creating a simple app with login, etc in vanilla PHP on your own. For your customer version though you will want to use a framework, more secure, better organized code, etc.

   I would recommend developing this with Laravel(PHP) it has a great community so you'll be able to find great learning resources to get started. (Rails is good too, but I think Laravel will be easier to get started/deploy your app)

   Also I recommend developing on a mac. Windows always seems to have obscure issues that you will waste hours/days on.

   laracasts.com will get you started with Laravel.

   There are great deployment tools forge and envoyer. Hosting on Digital Ocean is perfect for most apps, AWS and linode too)

   Use stripe for billing.

   There is a SaaS add-on to the framework call Spark. It's ok but, I find I'd rather roll my own stripe/SaaS integration.

   Also Spark does use Vue.js though so since you're just learning I would stick with developing the app using jquery for ajax interactions and think about moving up to vue in the future.

   I would create the MVP as a web application for all the interactions. Then once you have that established you can look at adding true android and iOS apps. Those might be better to hire out the development of. Or a future learning project.

   You should be able to set everything up as a mobile web application, use the bootstrap framework for the look and feel of your app. There are some ready made admin templates that can get you something similar to baremetrics.

   Having your Dad's plant as an initial user for your app will be great to refine what they need get their feedback.

   Good luck. Follow up and let us know how it's going.

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6. salukiNov 2016
   I recommend these two books for getting started. You should be able to order from your library, obtain used on amazon or maybe even find pdf files online.

   Head First HTML and CSS

   Work along with the tutorials as you're going through the book.

   Head First PHP & MySQL

   Same thing here work along with the examples.

   After you have those completed or along the way pick a php app that you would use, maybe a to do list, organize/track something you collect and try to build it from scratch.

   Google and StackOverflow will be your friends here.

   After you complete that one a good next step is Laracasts.com. There are free videos to get you started in PHP and Laravel(Framework).

   Maybe rebuild your personal app you created using the Laravel Framework.

   Next I'd recommend The Head First Javascript and jQuery books are good for getting your feet wet too while you're working through laracasts free content.

   There is lots to learn but this will give you a good foundation to get started and continue learning.

   Have Fun.

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