My Experience with PHP Thus Far

I started reading the book Beginning PHP 5.3 Wrox by Matt Doyle a few days ago,  I've read quite a bit, so far I'm up to page 160 on chapter 7.  I'm a bit excited by what I've learned so far.  So far I've learned about the following things.

Data Types
Arrays
String Manipulation
Functions
Callbacks

I was even able to implement a master page-like functionality using PHP. I've been amazed at how easy it has been pickup the PHP language.  It sort of reminds me of the C language because of certain things like it's Printf functions as well as the implementation of local static variables.  I don't know the full history of PHP but I can see the influence that C has had on it as a language.  Its C-like implementation has helped me tremendously in picking up the language.  The one thing that is a little different than anything I've ever seen is its implementation of arrays and associative arrays.  They are a bit more flexible than most of your out-of-the-box arrays in most languages but much more loose than static languages like C#. 

I've been writing nothing but C# for the last 8 years or so an it's fun to play in a different environment.  I say environment because the PHP is surrounded by a whole different set of technologies. What I really find exciting is its open source orientation. Lately I've noticed that start-ups, give camps, are interested strictly on non-.net technologies and that's probably for a good reason.  .Net hosting when compared with everything else is usually many times more expensive.  It is also much faster to get websites up and running with these languages.  You can counter argue that point with things like asp.net web pages and web matrix but the hosting costs are still quite a deal breaker.

At first I wanted to write more apps on my side projects in .Net but I just can justify getting my family members and friends into these expensive hosting plans.  While I still have to pay for decent hosting for PHP it's nowhere near the cost of a .Net plan with SQL Server.

I still have quite a few challenges ahead before I can produce anything of significance but I can't wait until I get there.

Until Next Time... Happy Coding.

 

Comments

David Cook said…
Hey Fernando,

There are so many packages to consider when working with PHP that ultimately are game-changers of you view the language. Feel free to keep in touch as you work on your own initiatives, and I'd be glad to share what I've garnered over the past few months with my own.

A few things to start with reviewing, as they will help with MVC pattern implementations:

- Yii Framework
- Smarty Templates


Everything else comes into consideration when you start playing with heavy AJAX and incorporating powerful Javascript libraries (such as Knockout.js and the MVVM pattern). Certainly, as people begin to cleanly separate their PHP from their HTML view components and it becomes more intuitive, you'll see the language's reputation for complexity subside.
May 21, 2012 at 11:05 AM
laurie Sanderz said…
Nice post.keep up the good work

PHP 5 developer
November 8, 2012 at 2:47 AM
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