What languages Should I learn this summer?
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It really depends on what your trying to accomplish with the language to be honest. I mean learning even xhtml+css will generally be very useful to an affiliate marketer. If you dedicated yourself to it for a few days you'd easily grasp it, assuming your not a retard.
But as others have mentioned, PHP+MySQL is definitely a brilliant combination for online stuff (+1 to the guy that mentioned looking at cakePHP whilst learning it). Even putting time into learning some basic unix server management stuff can be worth it in the long run.
But as others have mentioned, PHP+MySQL is definitely a brilliant combination for online stuff (+1 to the guy that mentioned looking at cakePHP whilst learning it). Even putting time into learning some basic unix server management stuff can be worth it in the long run.
PHP + MySQL + Javascript = A good grounding in online development
But for actually learning how to program in good solid code, and learning the fundamental principles of programming I would recommend either c or Java. The learning curve is tougher, but you will actually learn skills you can transfer over to other languages. PHP is a very loose language and you will get away with mistakes that won't work in other languages, something like c is better to teach you discipline.
Also this might help you: How to be a Programmer: A Short, Comprehensive, and Personal Summary
But for actually learning how to program in good solid code, and learning the fundamental principles of programming I would recommend either c or Java. The learning curve is tougher, but you will actually learn skills you can transfer over to other languages. PHP is a very loose language and you will get away with mistakes that won't work in other languages, something like c is better to teach you discipline.
Also this might help you: How to be a Programmer: A Short, Comprehensive, and Personal Summary
+1 for Ruby. After 20 years of working in various environments and languages, I got tired of it all. Ruby re-ignited my passion for building software.
That said, most IMers work in PHP, except for scrapers and the like, which they might code for personal use. And, since WordPress is written in PHP, it's pretty compelling to have a working knowledge of it, as WP is a pretty compelling platform to build stuff on.
As for web development - you definitely need to add MySql and Javascript to the mix. Assuming you already know HTML & CSS, if not, add them to your summer workload.
For learning Javascript, I like: Amazon.com: JavaScript: The Good Parts: Douglas Crockford: Books (not-aff) especially. It's not a beginner's book, but it's an excellent short book that will tell you important things about the language, that other books miss. Make it your second javascript book. As for the first one, this one looks like a good choice: Amazon.com: JavaScript: A Beginner's Guide, Second Edition: John Pollock: Books (not-aff)
For learning Ruby, I recommend waiting for this: Amazon.com: The Well-Grounded Rubyist: David Black: Books (not-aff) from David Black. His earlier title, Ruby for Rails was very good. By all accounts his new release, retitled to better reflect the contents, will be even better. After that, just hit the interwebs and learn from what people are doing.
I don't have any specific suggestions for the rest: I learned sql so long ago, I couldn't begin to recommend a text. And I learned HTML and CSS off the web, so again, no books to offer.
Anyway -- good luck. And let us know what you end up doing.
That said, most IMers work in PHP, except for scrapers and the like, which they might code for personal use. And, since WordPress is written in PHP, it's pretty compelling to have a working knowledge of it, as WP is a pretty compelling platform to build stuff on.
As for web development - you definitely need to add MySql and Javascript to the mix. Assuming you already know HTML & CSS, if not, add them to your summer workload.
For learning Javascript, I like: Amazon.com: JavaScript: The Good Parts: Douglas Crockford: Books (not-aff) especially. It's not a beginner's book, but it's an excellent short book that will tell you important things about the language, that other books miss. Make it your second javascript book. As for the first one, this one looks like a good choice: Amazon.com: JavaScript: A Beginner's Guide, Second Edition: John Pollock: Books (not-aff)
For learning Ruby, I recommend waiting for this: Amazon.com: The Well-Grounded Rubyist: David Black: Books (not-aff) from David Black. His earlier title, Ruby for Rails was very good. By all accounts his new release, retitled to better reflect the contents, will be even better. After that, just hit the interwebs and learn from what people are doing.
I don't have any specific suggestions for the rest: I learned sql so long ago, I couldn't begin to recommend a text. And I learned HTML and CSS off the web, so again, no books to offer.
Anyway -- good luck. And let us know what you end up doing.
Not to hijack your thread aim high, but I'm in the exact same situation as you. I have around 4 months off in between semesters this summer, and I want (need) to learn how to code. I want to be able to look at a Slightly Shady SEO or Blue Hat SEO post and know wtf they're talking about, and know how to do it. I want to be able to automate shit. I know I'll need to learn PHP, MySQL, and JS but would a bit of cURL help as well (for scraping shit, etc)? What are the best resources to learn with?
You can use curl in PHP. There are also other options when scraping like fopen, fget.
w3schools.com - My favorite resource.
w3schools.com - My favorite resource.
You can learn Curl in a day. Really once you learn one language the rest will be so much easier. I can pick up a new language and write my first app in a day. After about a month I will probably have it mastered. For me programming has been something I really loved. I started with PHP, then went straight to C# as I heard the syntax was similar.
Recently I started with common lisp and am finding it very interesting. Rambling a bit here. What finally gave me the push to learn a language was that I knew what app I wanted and it just didn't exist. With that in mind I torrented a few php books and within about two weeks I had my first workable app
gonna stop ramblin warrior forum dicks........
Recently I started with common lisp and am finding it very interesting. Rambling a bit here. What finally gave me the push to learn a language was that I knew what app I wanted and it just didn't exist. With that in mind I torrented a few php books and within about two weeks I had my first workable app
gonna stop ramblin warrior forum dicks........im a fan of .net personally. all the open source heads can't complain now that there's mono etc.
C# is where its at imo for most normal software. if you wanna start getting into real high performance computing and shit there's another story -- vector based functional languages ftw, but thats not usually up the affiliate marketing alley
C# is where its at imo for most normal software. if you wanna start getting into real high performance computing and shit there's another story -- vector based functional languages ftw, but thats not usually up the affiliate marketing alley
its cool. im in the same boat. i want to be able to grab the codes that people give out and know how to read it and adjust it to my needs.
You can learn Curl in a day. Really once you learn one language the rest will be so much easier. I can pick up a new language and write my first app in a day. After about a month I will probably have it mastered. For me programming has been something I really loved. I started with PHP, then went straight to C# as I heard the syntax was similar.
Recently I started with common lisp and am finding it very interesting. Rambling a bit here. What finally gave me the push to learn a language was that I knew what app I wanted and it just didn't exist. With that in mind I torrented a few php books and within about two weeks I had my first workable app
It's true, once you learn a language or two, the rest is cake walk (not to be confused with cakePHP). Most programming these days follow similar syntax. The only real notable exception (off the top of my head) is assembly, but you don't need that for any kind of affiliate / internet marketing. The real skill typically is learning how to debug in an efficient manner IMHO.
HTML, XHTML, CSS, PHP, MYSQL, JavaScript...start with basics then work up...don't waste your time with coldfusion...
python is OK, I prefer java better though.
python is OK, I prefer java better though.
+1 on this.You can learn Curl in a day. Really once you learn one language the rest will be so much easier. I can pick up a new language and write my first app in a day. After about a month I will probably have it mastered. For me programming has been something I really loved. I started with PHP, then went straight to C# as I heard the syntax was similar.
Recently I started with common lisp and am finding it very interesting. Rambling a bit here. What finally gave me the push to learn a language was that I knew what app I wanted and it just didn't exist. With that in mind I torrented a few php books and within about two weeks I had my first workable app
Really, I think what everyone's dancing around [but nobody is saying] is that programming is less of a "knowledge" and more of a "skill."
If someone asks if you know "how" to chop wood, the answer is probably "yes." You'd have to be a fucking idiot to be unable to swing an axe. What they're asking is if you've done it before and if you're any good at it.
Similarly, the statement "if(x == 1) { print x } else { print y }" isn't very hard to understand. What you're trying to achieve is familiarity with the programming language, so that the language is actually your tool to wield in your job (like the axe is a tool to woodcutting), so that when you use said tool, the outcome functions properly (conforms to specs, does what it's supposed to). There's no "right way" to write any program, but there are often many "wrong ways". You want to see and learn about the wrong ways, so you can avoid them.
Learn one language. "Learn" really doesn't mean read a book, unless you learn best that way -- I've never met anyone who learns best by reading a book. Your best bet is probably to pick a small, easy problem that you fully understand, and try to code it- like "If today is Tuesday, change the background to blue". Then work your way up. Pick a new problem, say "Display how many times a user has visited the site." This will require either sessions, file reading/writing, or SQL, to log how many times a client has visited. So when you get to this point, google "php sessions", "php file read" or "php mysql".
Not to put words in your mouth, but every time I hear someone say "I want to learn to program", they're confused about what they really want. They think they want lessons and books and courses; really, they want two or three links to some simple documentation, and enough motivation to get started on a small project. Once you've tapped out that first working bit of code, you'll be well on your way to "learning" any language (PHP/Ruby/JS/etc), framework (cakePHP, symfony, Rails, prototype) or API (cURL, WordPress) you want.
Just to offer another perspective on the whole Ruby hypeness:
7 reasons I switched back to PHP after 2 years on Rails - O'Reilly Ruby
In the end it's personal preference, but its not like ruby is a magic bullet.
I'm content with PHP/MySQL on the server side and xHTML/CSS/Javascript on the client side. I may pick up Python for some internal projects though.
This is something I'm pretty torn about.
I really do like writing Ruby, and as marfarma said, it reignited my passion for development. But what's the point in writing "fun" code if it runs slow? Ruby does not scale up (or out) very well, and all of my projects receive millions of hits a day.
It's frustrating to be stuck with PHP [as I hate PHP's coding conventions] just for speed.
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