Basic PHP Programming

Here are more reasons why PHP is such a dear:

PHP has a very widely available technical support, which comes along with its being open-source. There are a lot of e-mail discussion lists and groups that offer help and support on the . These lists cover a variety of topics � from PHP and databases to PHP on Windows, and of course those usual issues that beginners encounter. What else? Well, it is secure. You won�t have to worry because other users will not see the PHP code (as long as your scripts are correct, that is). See, two more reasons why you should get acquainted with PHP!

PHP now known as “PHP Hypertext Preprocessor”, but originally “Personal Home Page Tools” is a widely used open-source programming language used primarily for server-side applications, to develop dynamic web content such as the MediaWiki software. It can be seen as an open source alternative to Microsoft’s Active Server Pages (ASP) system and to the CGI/Perl system.

Its ease of use and similarity with the most common structured programming languages, most notably C and Perl, allows most experienced programmers to start developing complex applications with a minimal learning curve. It also enables experienced developers to get involved with dynamic web content applications without having to learn a whole new set of functions and practices.

Zend Technologies plans to announce availability of the open source Zend Framework 1.5 for building PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) applications next week. With this release, Zend Framework is to be made available in a version of the Ubuntu Linux distribution in April.

Featuring contributions and sponsorships from such vendors as Microsoft, IBM, and Google, Zend Framework 1.5 supports OpenID and Microsoft InfoCard identity management technologies. Also supported is LDAP authentication and the Nirvanix media content storage and delivery network. PHP programmers using the framework can access Nirvanix capabilities. Zend is offering a Zend Framework subscription support service, featuring consulting and a guaranteed per-incident response time.

There are too many Content Management Products in the market today. Too many in fact, that you wouldn’t know which to choose anymore. This can place you in a difficult situation because these products are not all unique in themselves. Therefore, you may make the mistake of picking one which you think seems to be the best product, then later regret when it turns out to be otherwise.

So, when do you get a Content Management Product? First, decide whether or not you really need one. If you believe you have the need, then proceed in getting one. Second, determine your company’s policy on development technologies, open source and hosted solutions. For all you know, getting a Content Management Product may not get along with the applications your company prefers to use.

Contrary to common notion, programming is not really hard, at least at present. Compared to the earlier days of programming about more than twenty years ago when it was totally alien to most people, nowadays, almost anyone can learn this skill. It’s true that during the infant stage of programming there were learning books to assist those who wanted to study and train in this field. However, we are luckier now because there are tutorials, mostly online, that can help us in developing programming skills.

On the other hand though, undergoing tutorials either online or in actual location should be boosted by one’s perseverance and interest. Perseverance requires the learner to read tutorial lessons and later try out some actual programming work while interest pushes the person to really want to acquire and learn said ability.

Blogger is equipped with a superb interface used to tidy up blog entries as well as facilitate endorsement of a blog to attain a better position in its niche. This application only requires an uncomplicated SimpleXML set transported with an entire PHP system, along with some understanding of the Google Blogger API and a small part of PHP scripting to come up with the needed HTML code.

Blogger interface is so excellent that it should be put to full use when promoting a blog because with this method, one need not install blog software on a web server anymore since it is already inbuilt with Blogger. This way the web site owner saves time and effort, plus he is able to maintain his MySQL database allowance and set it aside for better and more advanced use in the future.

Editing or creating a php page can lead to migraines and irregular sleeps due to the complicated nature of its coding. However, you can actually save time (and get more sleeps too!) if you will use a WYSIWYG php editor. WYSIWYG stands for “What You See Is What You Get” and it is basically a visual editor. It was made specifically for those who wish to make web pages but do not know anything about coding. TinyMCE is a nice program for those who wish to make websites using javascript, html and php. You can even control the pictures you are going to use in the website you are making, allowing you to preview and move the pictures as freely as possible—of course, without the hassle of inputting codes you cannot understand.

Photo taken from http://www.thesynapticleap.org

Who says php programmers can’t be game programmers? Of course they can! But do not expect them to create a Grand Theft Auto kind of game out of php coding. They can’t. All they can make are simple, yet fun games such as quizzes, sudoku and puzzles. LizQuiz is a downloadable snippet, wherein you can just change the variables you will use for the quiz you are making. You can configure the quiz using an XML file, so you don’t need a database to store your pool of questions. You can even add multiple answers to a single question if the question sees fit. You can get the snippet here.

Photo taken from http://www.sliver.com

All over the world, people are using PHP in their daily internet experience and with companies working hard to make it into a more powerful tool for the internet of tomorrow, updates and add-on’s are a fact of life. Zend Technologies, one of the developers who work with PHP has announced the release of their new and improved Zend Framework release 1.8 which makes PHP better by bringing Rapid Application Development (RAD) to the industry. The ability to do RAD allows easy business application development using PHP that is set to fuel business ventures into the cloud. Read the rest of this entry »

This year’s TestFest 2009 is almost here and people from all over the globe work together, each devoting a few hours of their time to the proper testing of the newer and enhanced versions of the platform to allow a wider testing program. Most testing is done by a select few who work their best to test, isolate and address issues that come out with previous releases that should have been addressed by current updates. The test group, spanning 20 countries with a multitude of talents hopes to try out and see if all errors, vulnerabilities and enhancements are up to par with programming standards previously implemented. Read the rest of this entry »