PHP, ASP, VBScript, Javascript, XML, mySQL, and more...

[stix_kua]

Hi all,

Recently I have gone on a learning binge, I want to learn PHP, mySQL, VBScript, Javascript, XML, ASP, and any other web-related languages and technologies that are used often enough to make them worth knowing. I was wondering if you kind folks could offer some tips, tricks, advice, or information on the subject matter.

[Alacarde]

Check out http://www.w3schools.com. I believe that they have *all* of those languages there. I don't think that they teach the advanced stuff though, but they're good on the basics and intermediate level. Good Luck

[skyxliner]

i think u should learn related subjects at a time...

like php and mysql, then vbscript and asp? and maybe javascript and xml... cause one language is already overwhelming haha... i think you leran most from having a project and trying to complete a goal

[ScaryBinary]

I'd start with PHP and MySQL. Both are well documented (on their respective websites, http://www.php.net and http://www.mysql.com, and in various books available at your favorite geeky bookstore) and relatively easy to learn. They also interface well with each other, and they're free. Many websites use them as an alternative to the Microsoft package of ASP and SQL Server. I've not yet run PHP on a Microsoft IIS machine (I use the Apache server) but I think it can be done. The Apache server is also free (see http://www.apache.org) and would be another good thing to be familiar with.

I'd also definitely learn Javascript along with PHP and MySQL. With these three skills you should be able to do just about anything, both on the server-side and the client-side. I'd really recommend just concentrating on these technologies for a bit.

VBScript is the language used for writing ASP pages...you can use it in place of Javascript on the client side (emebedded scripts in HTML pages) but I would strongly recommend you don't because only Internet Explorer can understand VBScript. If you learn VBScript, you can code ASP pages. VBScript is nice in that it provides better support (in my opinion) for things like dates, form validation, and such, but Javascript is just more portable.

Make sure you have a good understanding of HTML and CSS. I'm a "purist" in this respect and can't stand it when people use anything Macromedia or the likes in their websites when some simple HTML and CSS would have been fine! Even if you use a WYSIWYG editor, knowing HTML and CSS allows you to do some real nifty fine-tuning, as most these editors generate a lot of garbage (at least Frontpage does, IMHO).

XML is good to learn too...the trend these days (I can't say I follow it, I haven't had time to figure it out yet) is to dynamically read XML pages from a server and dump it to the browser after parsing it to HTML (at least I think that's how it's done). This would be great for storing documents on a server and allowing surfers to read them (think news feeds and the likes).

Just do a Google search for any of these things - search for something like "PHP Tutorial" and you'll get a gajillion results. That's a good start for gaining a basic understanding of what's out there. The best way to learn, I think, is to just sit down and try to do something with the language. Give yourself a project - say, make a website that queries a database and displays the titles of your favorite musical artists. Then expand on it....as you work you can check programming references to learn about the functions and stuff, and chances are someone out there on the internet has already done what you're trying to do, and will have some advice or code examples.

Once you learn the basics of programming in a language, it's pretty easy to learn another language. Most languages have things like if...then...else loops, for loops, etc. that work the same way (though they'll have slightly different syntax) so it's easy to transition. VBScript is about the sloppiest language I've ever seen, so be careful!

Anyway, have fun, and just challenge yourself. Try new things. It's all good.