On Sat, Oct 22, 2011 at 12:22 PM, Tedd Sperling <tedd.sperling@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Personally, I find little interest in the new social media. In addition, I often find it annoying and even presumptuous of people who post things and in-turn expect me to acknowledge and respond to their post. It's like walking down a crowded sidewalk and being required to say "Good Morning" to everyone you meet. While it might be polite and politically correct, it's also a pain in the ass and lacks honesty and purpose. > > I say, why not better focus your "Good Morning" to the old person sitting on bench who is being ignored by all passersby? Your time/attention has worth, use it wisely. So, is there something about social networks you don't get that you think you cannot do just that? There is really no social contract to respond to every post and prod from the social network. Many people are out there looking for an audience, many of them to sell something to you. Again, it's not necessary to say "hi" to everyone that's on the social network. I really think you have the wrong idea about these things. FB, G+, Twitter, and like before them Dreamwidth, Livejournal, they are places where people go to meet, and have a sense of community. But there's no obligation to listen or talk to anyone you don't want to, anytime you don't want to. These social networks aren't even as open as mailing lists, where you can't really control who gets on the mailing list and starts talking. At least with the social networks you get to pick and choose who you listen to, and many of them you're now able to pick and choosd who sees what you say. So, it's really *not* like walking down a crowded street at all where a bunch of random people are shouting "GOOD DAY,SIR!" at you and expecting a reply. It's a room full of people *you've* chosen to listen to. > [2] To me, uplifting and revolutionary code is simply re-inventing what's current and making improvements in user interaction -- thereby expanding programming into regions not yet touched. I've read much about the "mind v machine" integration in countless books and actually seen this being addressed in several different disciplines over the years -- to me, that is exciting, uplifting, and revolutionary. > > Or example, just this morning, my wife (a jeweler) received this link: > > http://reflectionbeads.com/i/design-your-own That's a very interesting site. Surprising that it doesn't use a lick of PHP to do what it's doing, given what you wrote below. > Please review that link -- IMO, the people who designed that application have their thumb on the pulse of their customers. > > So, my advice is to find something you like/know and make it easier for others to use. This is indeed the essence of successful making. > In my recommendation to the College (where I teach) to include PHP in their IT curriculum, I wrote (in part): > > -- quote -- > > The Internet is a World-wide phenomena that I need not expound upon other than to say the knowledge of how to communicate effectively on the Internet is a topic well worth the study. Internet communication is presented via Web Sites and knowing how to create effective and useful Web Sites is the key to successful Internet Businesses. > > A Web Site need not be a static billboard on the Internet highway trying to snag passersby, but instead it can become a fully functional application for users to use and find solutions for their problems and needs. Finding and fulfilling customer's needs is what Business is about. The Internet provides an opportunity for Service Providers to optimize their efforts in finding customers. This presents an unequaled opportunity in sales and service. > > To properly use this new medium, Web Languages must be taught and mastered. No single Web Language can fulfill all the needs of a fully functional Web Site. Instead several languages must work in concert creating a symbiotic relationship -- each language has its own scope, function, and limit. > > A Web Site is like a House: There is the basic frame -- the 2x4 framing, flooring, rafters, siding, and roof. That's HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language); There is the siding types, the color of the paint, the type of flooring, and the general looks of the house. That's CSS (Cascading Style Sheets); Then there is the plumbing, electrical wiring, furnace for heating, and air-conditioning for cooling. That's PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor); Then there is the operation of the house such as electrical switches, doors and windows that open/close, faucets that turn on/off, air-conditioning and furnace that turn on/off via switches. That's JavaScript; And finally, there's the paperwork, such as the Deed, invoices, payments, etc, and the place to store that data. That's MySQL (the database). > > Put all of those Languages together and you will have the workings of a fully functional Web Site. > > While I say that all languages should work together and none work in a vacuum, it is noteworthy to point out that only PHP can build, create, and use all of these languages. In other words, PHP (while serving it's own function) can create code and use all the other languages as it wants. It is The Master Language that can change any of the other languages depending upon programable decisions. It can provide variables for languages that normally don't have variables, such as HTML and CSS, and it can communicate with languages that do have variables, such as Javascript and MySQL. > > In short there is no limit to the scope of this most powerful Web Language -- it is THE Language of the Internet. Well, okay, PHP is all that and a bag of chips, but it's not the ONLY player in this field. There are several languages that can do all that PHP does, some more elligantly, others less so. But really, there is *no* functionality in PHP that I haven't been able to also accomplish in Ruby, Perl, C++, or Java. Not that I would necessarily pick those languages over PHP for any given job. I think the distinct advantage PHP has over those other languages is the much lower learning curve to acquiring the skills needed to do web programming. All those other languages have deep idiosyncrasies that make them harder to learn and get things done in. The only language that gives PHP a run for it's money in that regard is Ruby, but only because of Rails. And learning Rails is can be a bit daunting for simple starting off projects students would have. PHP is certainly a versatile language. I've even found myself writing one-liners in PHP because the functionality I needed was right there at hand in PHP, and more difficult to find in Perl or non-existant in Awk/Sed/Grep/Bash. As for having PHP part of an IT cirriculum, I say RIGHT ON. A lot of these students will be going off to doing things where they may be asked to put together a web site for someone, and not knowing the tools is going to be painful. There are so many people out there hacking away at PHP and web sites that are doing a terrible job of it having seen some GAWDAWFUL PHP in my day -- which is one thing PHP is more prone to than some of those other languages, by the way. But teaching them programming *skills* and *knowledge* rather than just how to rub two spoons together and swing a rubber chicken to get the server going again is a lot more useful to them. > -- un-quote -- > > Now that you've picked the right language, what are you going to do with it? THAT I find exciting. That never seems to be a problem -- there's always SOMETHING that needs making! > Cheers, > > tedd > > > _____________________ > tedd@xxxxxxxxxxxx > http://sperling.com > > -- > PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) > To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php > > -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
