Programming question - Blu-ray Forum

Aaron · 07-18-2007, 01:49 PM

Ok, I'm wanting to learn some programming languages. What one should I start with? I would like to make simple web apps, and little things like that. What one would you recommend? I'm leaning towards PHP.

Captain Wiggles · 07-18-2007, 02:30 PM

PHP Is very straight forward an is what I use at my job for web applications. php.net will be your best friend when it comes to function references and general help.

thunderhawk · 07-18-2007, 03:46 PM

PHP is nice. Look the forum is running with PHP.

There are 2 kinds of programming languages for the web. Server-side languages, like PHP, ASP and Perl.. and client-side languages like JavaScript or ActionScript. The easiest thing to do, is take one of both. That should give you the most flexibility or just stick to the client-side language as they're more versatile, however that's probably just my personal opinion.

For myself, I have (had) experience with PHP, Perl, some ASP and JS and some Flash. If you want to go with Flash, it's very easy to go with Adobe Flash Pro... Ah well, you'll figure out what best fits.

Aaron · 07-18-2007, 05:22 PM

Thanks for the help guys.

Aaron · 07-18-2007, 06:14 PM

Do you know any good online PHP tutorials I could use?

I'll probably get Flash Pro, my mom's a teacher and I get all of the free software I want.

teacher_man99 · 07-18-2007, 11:30 PM

Flash causes a LOT of compatibility issues, you may want to avoid it. I use Javascript very often, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), and typically author in XHTML. I really enjoy Macromedia Dreamweaver.

Aaron · 07-19-2007, 12:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teacher_man99

Flash causes a LOT of compatibility issues, you may want to avoid it. I use Javascript very often, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), and typically author in XHTML. I really enjoy Macromedia Dreamweaver.

I have Dreamweaver CS3, but I find it somewhat confusing.

teacher_man99 · 07-19-2007, 01:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron

I have Dreamweaver CS3, but I find it somewhat confusing.

Have you done much with HTML? Get a basic understanding of the language and it goes pretty well from there. There are some programs out there that will do it for you, but you lose a lot of control in what you're doing. Best of luck...

Aaron · 07-19-2007, 01:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teacher_man99

Have you done much with HTML? Get a basic understanding of the language and it goes pretty well from there. There are some programs out there that will do it for you, but you lose a lot of control in what you're doing. Best of luck...

I know very basic HTML, I have to look at the tag sheet when I'm doing more advanced things than making bold text.

But, hey

I know iWeb on my Mac does it for you, but it's all templates.

phloyd · 07-19-2007, 04:29 AM

If you want to learn a web programming language I would go with PHP. My stats site is entirely PHP and mySQL.

If you want to learn a 'real' programming language, you should learn C.

But I am guessing that you should start with something less demanding, and PHP is probably a good choice.

If you want to learn to program C or similar you are probably best to take a course.

thunderhawk · 07-19-2007, 08:12 AM

Some basic HTML course, created by me several years ago... I must say, the code of the site itself is somewhat messy. I need to rewrite that one actually.

http://users.skynet.be/fa414947/HTML...se/General.htm

Aaron · 07-19-2007, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thunderhawk

Some basic HTML course, created by me several years ago... I must say, the code of the site itself is somewhat messy. I need to rewrite that one actually.

http://users.skynet.be/fa414947/HTML...se/General.htm

Thanks! That's easier to understand that W3 schools.

Aaron · 07-19-2007, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phloyd

If you want to learn a web programming language I would go with PHP. My stats site is entirely PHP and mySQL.

If you want to learn a 'real' programming language, you should learn C.

But I am guessing that you should start with something less demanding, and PHP is probably a good choice.

If you want to learn to program C or similar you are probably best to take a course.

Nice site phloyd! Did you use a web design program, or write everything yourself?

Shadowself · 07-20-2007, 01:14 AM

I remember what an old programmer/analyst friend of mine (he got his PhD in computer science at the age of 22 and was in on the development of a few of the well known languages) said...

"A really good programmer can code FORTRAN in any language."

I assume he meant any programming language and not French, English, German, Swahili, etc.

The bottom line from my experience over the years is that if you learn a structured language and actually use it a bit to get used to how things work then picking up a second and third (or more) language is easy. So it does not really matter which one you pick as long as it is useful to you. After that if you need to pick up others it will be easier, so picking the "right" one is really not necessary.

Aaron · 07-20-2007, 01:19 AM

What one would be best to learn when working with servers? I'm taking CCNA classes next semester, and would like to be a step ahead of the others.

helli3yte · 07-20-2007, 01:43 AM

programing gives me nightmares. i stay away from that crap

gimme hardware or software

teacher_man99 · 07-20-2007, 01:54 AM

Aaron,

I've used the W3 a lot, but that's only because it was recommended through my classes. I just finished my Specialist's Degree in Educational Technology and took Beginning and Intermediate Web Development. Lots can be found just through internet searches, when you're authoring it yourself (but again, you need a handle for whatever language you choose). I prefer XHTML just because that's what I've been taught. I started towards Flash last semester, but saw all the mess it can create for site visitors so when completely into Javascript. I also enjoy using CSS because it gives you a lot of control in web design. Check out CSS Zen Garden for some looks. Best of luck to you as you make your choices and get started.

Aaron · 07-20-2007, 02:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teacher_man99

Aaron,

I've used the W3 a lot, but that's only because it was recommended through my classes. I just finished my Specialist's Degree in Educational Technology and took Beginning and Intermediate Web Development. Lots can be found just through internet searches, when you're authoring it yourself (but again, you need a handle for whatever language you choose). I prefer XHTML just because that's what I've been taught. I started towards Flash last semester, but saw all the mess it can create for site visitors so when completely into Javascript. I also enjoy using CSS because it gives you a lot of control in web design. Check out CSS Zen Garden for some looks. Best of luck to you as you make your choices and get started.

I know enough javascript to do a pop up..lol

HTML Code:

javascript: alert('I'm a script kiddy')

Thanks, i'll look into XHTML as well

iceman · 07-20-2007, 02:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shadowself

The bottom line from my experience over the years is that if you learn a structured language and actually use it a bit to get used to how things work then picking up a second and third (or more) language is easy. So it does not really matter which one you pick as long as it is useful to you. After that if you need to pick up others it will be easier, so picking the "right" one is really not necessary.

QFT. When you know how to program in one language, you basically know how to program in all of them, it's just different semantics so you have to change a few names or arrange the code differently etc. Some languages can be very different from others though (for example functional languages), so you might want to avoid these. Don't worry, you won't find a functional language if you aren't really looking for it

Keep in mind that html is not a programming language, it's just a way to display text/images/data.

I would recommend that you pick a language that you can experiment with and use yourself and see what results you get by trying the things you read in tutorials. For instance, if you can't use php, I would try to pick another language, maybe try to install a C compiler, or even Pascal or Basic. Pascal and Basic are pretty much dead and not very efficient, but they are very easy to understand and they should be easy to install and start using.

I would also recommend that you avoid Javascript and Flash to start with, as well as Assembly, C++ (extension to C), Java, Cobalt and Fortran

In the end you probably want to learn C and php. If you know one of them you basically know the other. php is easier and much more fault tolerant though, so php is a good pick.

If you later add in mysql and html you can almost create any website you want

Aaron · 07-20-2007, 02:32 AM

I know someone on the vBulletin developer team, i'll ask him where the best tutorial is. I'm going with php.

Thanks for the help guys!

07-18-2007, 01:49 PM	#1
Aaron Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Feb 2007 Location:Oklahoma City Home Theater Gallery:3 Blu-ray collection:33 Blu-ray reviews: 2 Trading Score:4	Programming question Ok, I'm wanting to learn some programming languages. What one should I start with? I would like to make simple web apps, and little things like that. What one would you recommend? I'm leaning towards PHP.

07-20-2007, 01:14 AM	#14
Shadowself Senior Member Member since:Sep 2005	When I hear this question... I remember what an old programmer/analyst friend of mine (he got his PhD in computer science at the age of 22 and was in on the development of a few of the well known languages) said... "A really good programmer can code FORTRAN in any language." I assume he meant any programming language and not French, English, German, Swahili, etc. The bottom line from my experience over the years is that if you learn a structured language and actually use it a bit to get used to how things work then picking up a second and third (or more) language is easy. So it does not really matter which one you pick as long as it is useful to you. After that if you need to pick up others it will be easier, so picking the "right" one is really not necessary.

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07-18-2007, 02:30 PM	#2
Captain Wiggles Member Member since:Jan 2007	PHP Is very straight forward an is what I use at my job for web applications. php.net will be your best friend when it comes to function references and general help.

07-18-2007, 03:46 PM	#3
thunderhawk Moderator Member since:Jul 2004 Location:Belgium	PHP is nice. Look the forum is running with PHP. There are 2 kinds of programming languages for the web. Server-side languages, like PHP, ASP and Perl.. and client-side languages like JavaScript or ActionScript. The easiest thing to do, is take one of both. That should give you the most flexibility or just stick to the client-side language as they're more versatile, however that's probably just my personal opinion. For myself, I have (had) experience with PHP, Perl, some ASP and JS and some Flash. If you want to go with Flash, it's very easy to go with Adobe Flash Pro... Ah well, you'll figure out what best fits.

07-18-2007, 05:22 PM	#4
Aaron Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Feb 2007 Location:Oklahoma City Home Theater Gallery:3 Blu-ray collection:33 Blu-ray reviews: 2 Trading Score:4	Thanks for the help guys.

07-18-2007, 06:14 PM	#5
Aaron Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Feb 2007 Location:Oklahoma City Home Theater Gallery:3 Blu-ray collection:33 Blu-ray reviews: 2 Trading Score:4	Do you know any good online PHP tutorials I could use? I'll probably get Flash Pro, my mom's a teacher and I get all of the free software I want.

07-18-2007, 11:30 PM	#6
teacher_man99 Active Member Member since:Mar 2007	Flash causes a LOT of compatibility issues, you may want to avoid it. I use Javascript very often, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), and typically author in XHTML. I really enjoy Macromedia Dreamweaver.

07-19-2007, 04:29 AM	#10
phloyd Blu-ray Guru Member since:Dec 2003 Location:California Trading Score:5	If you want to learn a web programming language I would go with PHP. My stats site is entirely PHP and mySQL. If you want to learn a 'real' programming language, you should learn C. But I am guessing that you should start with something less demanding, and PHP is probably a good choice. If you want to learn to program C or similar you are probably best to take a course.

07-19-2007, 08:12 AM	#11
thunderhawk Moderator Member since:Jul 2004 Location:Belgium	Some basic HTML course, created by me several years ago... I must say, the code of the site itself is somewhat messy. I need to rewrite that one actually. http://users.skynet.be/fa414947/HTML...se/General.htm

07-20-2007, 01:19 AM	#15
Aaron Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Feb 2007 Location:Oklahoma City Home Theater Gallery:3 Blu-ray collection:33 Blu-ray reviews: 2 Trading Score:4	What one would be best to learn when working with servers? I'm taking CCNA classes next semester, and would like to be a step ahead of the others.

07-20-2007, 01:43 AM	#16
helli3yte Active Member Member since:Nov 2006 Location:Mt.Prospect, IL	programing gives me nightmares. i stay away from that crap gimme hardware or software

07-20-2007, 01:54 AM	#17
teacher_man99 Active Member Member since:Mar 2007	Aaron, I've used the W3 a lot, but that's only because it was recommended through my classes. I just finished my Specialist's Degree in Educational Technology and took Beginning and Intermediate Web Development. Lots can be found just through internet searches, when you're authoring it yourself (but again, you need a handle for whatever language you choose). I prefer XHTML just because that's what I've been taught. I started towards Flash last semester, but saw all the mess it can create for site visitors so when completely into Javascript. I also enjoy using CSS because it gives you a lot of control in web design. Check out CSS Zen Garden for some looks. Best of luck to you as you make your choices and get started.

07-20-2007, 02:32 AM	#20
Aaron Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Feb 2007 Location:Oklahoma City Home Theater Gallery:3 Blu-ray collection:33 Blu-ray reviews: 2 Trading Score:4	I know someone on the vBulletin developer team, i'll ask him where the best tutorial is. I'm going with php. Thanks for the help guys!

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