On 27 Feb 2008, at 19:50, Matty Sarro wrote:
I am still relatively new to any kind of web design or php
programming, I'll
be completely honest. I am used to working with C, Perl, Java, and a
splash
of C++. PHP and web application development are kind of a new bag
for me and
I'm still trying to get my bearings. I see that designing a web
application
can involve all of the following: html, javascript, php, sql, ajax,
xml,
design patterns, and other things. Its kind of... information
overload right
now? For what I want to do I know I'm going to need to learn all of
them,
but coming up with a roadmap for "what should I learn first?" is
becoming
problematic. I want to start working on projects but I'm just not
sure what
order to learn things in. I don't want to come up with something
that works,
and then have to re-write it all over again simply because I read a
new
chapter in a new book.
Maybe it's just me but I usually end up rewriting everything I write
at least twice. That's just a fact of life and I've found that I end
up with far better code that way than I do by trying to get it right
first time. It also tends to be quicker.
In my experience the best way to learn a new technology, whether it be
a language, framework or platform, is to pick a fairly small well-
defined project and have a go. Yes you'll get it wrong, but you'll
learn from each failure and become better in the process.
When you don't know how to do something, first have a go even if
you're sure it won't work. If you don't get anywhere, Google for it.
If you can't find anything then ask on a mailing list (this one is
good for PHP, usually), but make sure you've done the proper
groundwork first and explain what you've already done in your post.
In short, learn by doing. It's served me well.
-Stut
--
http://stut.net/
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