PHP Training For Beginners - Where Do I Start?

PHP Training For Beginners - Where Do I Start?

By Michael Dorf


As you sit down and puzzlingly look at the "Hello World" statement on your screen, you may wonder how to get beyond basic echo commands to start becoming a fully fledged PHP developer. Rather than trying to wade into a stack of knee deep books only to come away confused with the process it is important that you have a conceptual understanding of PHP as an object oriented language.
Starting PHP training for beginners should go beyond just learning basic commands and should instead focus on how to begin increasing your understanding of the language as a means to extend your knowledge even further. Working with a professional PHP instructor-led course can help you better navigate the process from beginning to end, enabling you to get started on the right foot with the language.
Getting lost in a new programming language is a common experience for many novice developers, who are seeking to learn the elements of the language rather than focusing on how they fit together. PHP itself began as "Personal Home Page Tools" or in short, PHP Tools, which reflects its origins as a novel web based scripting language which extended Perl and Java into the web sphere. While PHP plays well with HTML, it has its own unique limitations, which require developers to understand the potential and reach of the language itself. As more software development takes the form of web applications, combining knowledge of HTML, CSS and PHP with a professional perspective can add up to a substantial long-term skill. Most self-led PHP training courses gradually build on the knowledge of the language, without any perspective on how it fits into the larger development process.
Isolated understanding of PHP coding focuses on the syntax of the language so you can write the basic echo "Hello World"; queries, although you may lack perspective on how it integrates fully with MySQL and a variety of structures. Coming into a perspective of PHP as a means to implement the Model View Controller (MVC) development pattern provides broader options to begin developing new opportunities. While you can study a book to learn basic PHP functions, classes and commands, a full instructor-led professional training course can help you get a broader perspective on developing for the scripting language.
At its core, PHP allows you to capture variables and store them efficiently for both Views (browsers) and Models (databases) through a variety of Controllers (application frameworks). Suppose you want to define a user message through a variable - you can do so with a basic script:
$level = 5;

$string = "Welcome User, You are at Level $level";

echo $string;
With only basic knowledge of the language and standards, you cannot fully complete this function since you require connection to a MySQL database as well as understanding of how users interact with the application. An instructor-led course can help you properly navigate the path from basic commands to fully-fledged PHP training in less time.
LearnComputer! (learncomputer.com) provides instructor-led local and onsite PHP training courses for individuals, small businesses, and corporations. Please see our schedule for complete details!

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