PHP
July 3, 2006
I hope all the American readers are enjoying the 4th of July holidays – happy holidays!
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On to things nerd-like: PHP
I’ve managed to put out another video on PHP for you guys. It’s longer than the others (19 minutes) and it goes into getting your computer set up for learning PHP.
Because I am gearing up on PHP (don’t worry, we have the cool gang on the forum taking care of the HTML and CSS questions,) I decided to set up a new site specially for PHP. Naturally it’s called:
www.killerphp.com
Ok, not too original but I figure it fits.
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FLASH ACTIONSCRIPT VIDEO
It has been a long time in coming, but finally, we have our ‘Killer Flash ActionScript’ video!
This video continues from where we left off in the first flash video and leads us into the true power of Flash – the scripting / programming. I should have several samples out this week.
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You might have noticed a general trend here at killersites.com -> programming. I believe that every web designer (and soon everyone,) should learn to program .. at very least, some basics.
It is such a powerful tool to own (programming that is,) that I figured we would tackle it from both the PHP and Flash perspective. More on that later.
Let me know what you think of the videos!
Thanks,
Stefan
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June 27, 2006
In this video, I explain some fundamental concepts about programming:
- What is a programming language?
- Why are there different programming languages?
Basic Programming Concepts
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June 23, 2006
Co-written by the guy who invented PHP (Rasmus Lerdorf,) this is a must-buy book for anyone getting into PHP or web programming in general.
What can I say; this book is so well written and to the point, that I found that the information seemed to just flow from the pages.
Who is this book for?
This is not a book for someone just learning how to program; it is for everyone else though.
Both programmers new to PHP, or PHP programmers with (at least) a basic understanding of PHP, will find this book to be very handy to have around.
The book does not try to cover everything about PHP… though it does cover things like:
- graphics
- xml
- pdf
- databases
… instead it gives the best coverage of the core language I’ve ever read.
Buy the book.
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May 31, 2006
More and more web designers are interested in taking the jump into learning how to build database driven websites.
These days, the language of choice is PHP (with some adventurous nerds jumping into Ruby,) because it is easy to use, easy to learn and is very popular.
Regardless of what technology/programming language (PHP, ASP, JSP, Cold Fusion) you use to build database driven websites, there are some (common) basic concepts that have to be understood before you can move forward.
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In the following video tutorial, I explain to the difference between server-side programming (PHP, ASP etc ..) vs. client-side programming – JavaScript, VB Script etc …
Video: Server-side programming vs. Client-side programming
PS: after you watch this video, you may want to take it to the next level and actually learn PHP.
Stefan Mischook
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May 9, 2006
With all the buzz about Ruby these days (because of the web application framework ‘Ruby on Rails’) Zend (the people who manage PHP) are feeling the pressure.
Nerd Note: a ‘web application framework’ makes creating databased driven websites much easier because the framework takes care of a lot of the ‘dirty’ work that you would normally have to build yourself.
As far as Zend is concerned, PHP is not getting its’ fair share of attention even though PHP is:
- Much more available than Ruby – in terms of hosting.
- PHP is a widely used and a proven language with big sites like Yahoo, Digg and Flickr using it.
- PHP is easy to use and easy to learn.
As I mentioned above, Ruby’s recent rise has been largely due to the web application framework ‘Ruby on Rails’. So in response to this, Zend has developed their own framework called: Zend Framework.
Along with the Zend Framework, comes a nifty new web site. From the press release:
Future of Web Application Design Is Here and Looking Good
Varien, a web design and development firm, has redesigned the Web site for Zend Technologies’ PHP framework. Varien completed the redesign as part of an effort to reposition PHP as the cleanest and most simple programming language.
Los Angeles, CA—April 20, 2006—Varien has completed redesigning the Zend Technologies’ new PHP Framework Web site in an effort to make the Framework more accessible. The Framework is a powerful new tool for Web developers, providing a simple, standardized way to create powerful web applications using PHP.
The redesign was part of a broader effort to reposition PHP, which included designing a new logo for the Framework. By repositioning PHP Zend hopes to make the Framework and PHP more appealing to current Web developers and less intimidating to those looking to get into Web development.
“Here you have PHP, a programming language that runs Flickr, Wikipedia, Digg, and even Yahoo, and yet Ruby has become synonymous with the new Web,†said Ben Blumenfeld, the Design Director at Varien. “Hopefully this redesign makes Web designers and entrepreneurs take another look at PHP. With Zend’s Framework, PHP is now simpler, faster and more powerful than it has ever been.â€
PHP usage has grown tremendously since PHP4 was released in 2000. However, PHP has recently lost some of its mindshare to the heavily touted Ruby on Rails, despite a huge gap in actual usage. (TIOBE programming community index)
The Zend Framework aims to provide a high-quality, commercial-friendly and open-source based solution for programming in PHP. Zend is excited about the Framework’s usability and knows the site redesign will help developers get the most out of the new technology.
“The coolness fact is also important in initially attracting Web developers and is complementary to the technology. The new look of our Web site enables us to build a more appealing perception of the Zend Framework,†said Andi Gutmans, the vice president of technology at Zend.
The Framework can be found at framework.zend.com. The redesign allows users to download the framework from the front page and highlights projects created using PHP in a section on the front page.
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WILL RUBY CONTINUE TO EAT AWAY AT PHP’S MIND SHARE?
This is the $64 000 question. But we have to consider one point: Ruby has capability that is widely used in Rails that PHP simply does not have; so can a PHP framework be as effective as Rails?
Nerd-minds want to know!
Stefan Mischook
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April 5, 2006
When people think of Java, they think of some mighty indestructible language/environment that never goes down – well at least less than other platforms like PHP or .NET.
REALITY CHECK
After running my own servers for 6 years (IIS with Resin) with few troubles, I moved hosting to outside sources. I had to go through several hosting companies before I found one that could even run my simple POJO based applications!
Now after a year has passed, my experience with shared Java hosting can be summarized:
- Tomcat seems to go down at least once every 7-14 days.
- Contrast this to PHP – never goes down.
FINAL COMMENTS
The Java community tends to dismiss PHP as some scrappy scripting language that can’t be counted on … I must confess, I used to think that too.
Now after a year of using both Java based and PHP based applications, I have personally found PHP to be much more stable and reliable. I am actually nervous that my Java applications (and Tomcat) will fail regularly and am moving to migrate everything to PHP.
I have no axe to grind, just speaking the truth based on my experience.
Stefan Mischook (The Web Design Heretic)
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April 5, 2006
PHP Hacks is essentially a collection of ‘bite-size’ PHP scripts that you can easily drop into your websites.
Besides being able to use the hacks straight away in your projects, the PHP code/hacks are clearly explained making them good tutorials for learning how you might do something in PHP.
SOME TOPICS/HACKS THAT STAND OUT:
- Creating a shopping cart.
- Using AJAX with JSON – a php library that makes working with AJAX easy.
- PEAR hacks like Net-Geo to find out state and city locations of people.
- A good examination of PHP design patterns.
Not exactly for beginners, but if you have an understanding of basic PHP you will be OK and you will learn a lot. This book is also good for programmers (from other languages) who want to get a good idea of what tools, libraries are available in the PHP world.
Another good book from O’reilly.
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