On Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 06:36:13AM +0100, Nathan Rixham wrote: > Hi All, > > I find myself wondering about the state of the PHP community (and > related community with a PHP focus), so, here's a bunch of questions - > feel free to answer none to all of them, on list or off, or add more of > your own - this isn't for anything specific, just out of interest and > sure I (and everybody who reads the replies) will learn something + > doors/options/contacts may come of it. The only thing I can guarantee is > that I'm genuinely interested in every reply and will read every one of > them + lookup every tech and link mentioned. > > in no particular order: > > What other languages and web techs do you currently use other than PHP? > - if you include html or css please include version, if js then > preferred libs, and whether client or server side. HTML 3, CSS 2.1?, Javascript (no idea of version) though very little of that. I use C, Python and Bash, but not for web work. > > What's your previous language/tech trail? Dartmouth BASIC, Borland Pascal, C, C++, FoxPro, Bash, Perl, Python, PHP, Javascript, in that order. > > Are you considering any new languages or techs, and if so which? > - names / links Nope. > > Is PHP your hobby/interest, primary development language, just learning or? Primary development language. > > How many years have you been using PHP regularly? Probably five years or so. Some exposure before that, but steady development for five years. > > How many years have you been working with web technologies? About 12 years. > > Did you come from a non-web programming background? Yes. > > Is your primary role web developer or designer? Primary role is CEO. But since I'm the guy with the expertise, I do the coding and design. > > In your developer life, are you an employer, and employee, contractor, > freelancer, part of a team of equal standing members? I suppose you'd call me a freelancer. I operate alone. > > Do you tend to work on jobs for geo-local clients, clients in the same > country, or do you work internationally 'on the web'? Clients in the same country. > > How do you get your projects? do they come to you, word of mouth, do you > hunt and bid for projects, code call, visit clients, target clients > individually you think you can help, or? > - not looking for trade secrets, just to get enough for an overall picture. Most of my coding has been for internal projects to run the company. I come up with the idea, do the design and the coding. Where a web customer needs PHP (usually for forms and such), I'm the guy who does it. > > Do you have any frustrations with the PHP community, do you find you > want to talk shop but can't, or find people to work with but can't, have > projects in mind you want to do but can't find people to do them with etc? My sole connection with the "community" is this list. I don't personally know other PHP programmers. I have a lot of respect for most of the people on this list. My only dissatisfaction is trying to figure out what people posting with very bad English are talking about. > > Do you network with other PHP'ers in real life - meetups etc, do you > tend to shy away, or do you find you circulate in other web related but > non PHP focussed communities? No networking. Not really into socializing. Even when I worked in a group programming environment, we didn't talk much about the nuts and bolts of how we did our jobs. We talked about women, music and such. Occasionally we talked about the odd requirements for this or that job. > > Are you a member or any other web tech communities, opensource efforts, > or standardization bodies - again, if so which? Former president (12-13 years) and co-founder of local Linux Users Group. > > Are there any efforts, projects or initiatives which are floating your > boat right now and that your watching eagerly (or getting involved with)? Not really. I'm not particularly interested in technology just for fun, though I've been a techie most of my life. I'm really only interested in technology to the extent I can find a real use for it in my life and work. Otherwise, I don't care. Consequently, although I own a cell phone, I have no use for a smart phone. I use maps rather than a GPS in my car, because I read maps just fine and I don't take spoken driving directions well; I really need to *see* where I'm going from above, as with a map. I think 3D movies and TV are just silly. I don't really see Blu-Ray as an improvement; I don't need to see movies in hi-def and I'm not going to watch all the extra content on the disk. Here's my version of a vacation: a cabin by the ocean. The only phone is a booth up by the road, about 50 yards (meters) away. There's a TV, but I don't turn it on. I take a laptop and never turn it on. I take actual books which I read for hours on end, in between naps and walks down to the water. Email just stacks up for a week. I don't google or wikipedia on vacation. And I have no anxiety whatsoever about being off the grid. I'm a late adopter. Paul -- Paul M. Foster -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
