What's the best way to learn PHP?

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Hello all,

I am new to affiliate marketing and ppc. In my travels so far, I understand that I should learn php as it is a pretty big deal to it all.

Could any of you tell me what is the best and fastest way to learn php (books, sites, courses, etc.)?

Thanks a bunch

Geo
 


there are several sites, you should check out the Design and Development part of these forums... and use google + wickedfire search bar too...

but for now, some good video tutorials are at killerphp.com
some good basic scraping tutorials are at oooff.com
some good basic php tutes are at w3schools.com
 
Yeah paid O'Reilly books are good but doing some searches on Just Fucking Google It for things like php tutorial or learn php can turn up tons of great free resources.

PHP is really easy to learn but then again I've been programming for 8 years.
 
I would focus on learning the business of affiliate marketing instead of prioritizing how to learn PHP, especially now that you're just starting out. You can always outsource basic programming but the knowledge you will acquire by taking the plunge and getting your hands dirty is invaluable. I did that with SEO. I thought I needed to learn javascript, html, php, css and bought books. It got me no experience and no money so I downloaded free templates and actually pounded away.

I'm pretty content with my organic rankings and make 6 figs/yr with very little expense.

My goal now is to try out PPC and affiliate marketing and as a beginner, I will test and learn instead of learning how to program.

Good luck.
 
Thanks all for your help. It's been a real blessing. My affiliate manager told me that this place is where the real players are at!

I am looking forward to learning from all of you!

See you at the top

@Webgirl, thanks for the heads up. I know that experience is the best teacher and that we don't need to know everything about everything. Very true and thanks for keeping me on track.
 
webgirl said:
I would focus on learning the business of affiliate marketing instead of prioritizing how to learn PHP, especially now that you're just starting out. You can always outsource basic programming but the knowledge you will acquire by taking the plunge and getting your hands dirty is invaluable. I did that with SEO. I thought I needed to learn javascript, html, php, css and bought books. It got me no experience and no money so I downloaded free templates and actually pounded away.
Click to expand...

While it's true that you can outsource the coding, it can be an expensive hassle. I wish I knew PHP during my years running several GPT sites; it would've been amazingly helpful. I still need to learn and I believe if I do learn it, I could put my ideas into motion much faster and just experiment with things better, which ultimately leads to more money.
 
Wrox books have always worked well for me, but the best way to learn any programming language is by example. Check out the source code and if you don't know what a certain function does, look it up on php.net.
 
Just fuckin do it.

Here's how i learned.
1. Read a php book or two (visual quick start pro I think) to get the gist of it.
2. Start writing your own basic scripts
3. Move up by dissecting more complex scripts
4. read about design patterns and practices (and this is the step im stuck on)
 
When you start learning get xampp (if you are on windows). It will install a free complete PHP/Apache environment on your local machine.

And then try to do the basics. Here is a freebie to start off with:

<?php
echo "Now I know PHP";
?>
 
As a programmer myself, I'd say stay off the net until you read a book or two on the subject (too much crap out there to confuse you). I'll second O'Reilly, they have good books for noobs and pros. Get "Programming PHP" and "PHP Cookbook". After those two you should have enough knowledge to build good apps/sites. Then you can search for specific topics as php is probably the most discussed language on the interwebs. php.net will be your friend.
 
NeilT said:
Hey, this video site is different then the one posted above: PHP Video Tutorials Like to watch the video instead of reading the book?

It is a great resource. He offers avout 15 free videos to get you started, then if you want more advanced topics you can buy more tutorials or you can just go to php.net and learn your self as he already taught you the basics.
Click to expand...

Nice resource - I like what this guy is doing. For php noobs you can have a fully functional php web application up and running just by following this guys tutorials.

Then, just read a few posts on WF and learn how to monetize said app.

See, it's easy to make money from the internets.
 
barman said:
Just fuckin do it.

Here's how i learned.
1. Read a php book or two (visual quick start pro I think) to get the gist of it.
2. Start writing your own basic scripts
3. Move up by dissecting more complex scripts
4. read about design patterns and practices (and this is the step im stuck on)
Click to expand...

I Agree and for the last part I recommend the book "Code Complete". This is the ultimate "code concepts" book that will give you the big perspectives.

Picking up a framework in later stages can also be a good thing, if the framework is good you can learn a lot from it. For that I recommend "Code Igniter". I used it for a Big website and I have nothing but positive things to say about it. The code is lightweight, no bloat. It's very flexible. And the documentation is as good as it gets.
 
Buy php for dummies at amazon.

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