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PHP, Is It Any Good?

Discussion in 'HTML & Website Design' started by Satchii, Jul 8, 2011.

  1. #1
    Hello there!

    I'm currently taking a course in Visual and Creative Arts and after its over I want to take Web Design.

    I know there is a difference between web design and web development. I don't want to start this thread with everyone having a reply on the differences and correlations. Web design is the front-end development in which the design is created and web development is the back-end side in which the design will be coded to work together in unison and fluidity.

    I know pretty much how HTML and CSS works. I have a fairly good grasp and knowledge about them but I'm curious to know what PHP is used for and how much better it is to improve a website.

    I hope I can get some really good examples on what PHP can add and what its purposes are used for.

    There isn't a single course in this metropolis city I live in that teaches Web Development so I'm forced to learn through tutorials and short articles. Sorry if this offends anyone who worked hard on learning this kind of stuff. It took me forever to grasp the concept of DIVs in CSS after transitioning from HTML.

    I'm really hoping for good answers from people here that works with PHP frequently and not "wanna-be know-hows" copying and pasting information from google. :p
    If it was that easy, I would google it myself but atlas google doesn't come close to what a forum community can give in terms of know-how.
     
    Satchii, Jul 8, 2011 IP
  2. BRUm

    BRUm Well-Known Member

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    #2
    You can't have a good grasp of web development if you have no idea of server-side scripting merits.

    In web development, PHP is used to pre-process hyper-text, allowing powerful management and manipulation of data across networks. This forum uses PHP as does my blog software: tothedepths.com and my old game engine: medievilwars.com and of course wikipedia.

    I don't really know what you're asking, could you be more specific?
     
    Last edited: Jul 9, 2011
    BRUm, Jul 9, 2011 IP
  3. MarketerScientist

    MarketerScientist Peon

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    #3
    PHP allows for stuff which are impossible with regular HTML and CSS, most notably generating dynamic content. IMO for that reason alone, it's well worth the effort.
     
    MarketerScientist, Jul 9, 2011 IP
  4. RamCity

    RamCity Peon

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    #4
    Satchii, PHP is not only good but also best in speed for sure. Although some shared hosting don't offer customization of php.ini file but if you can use PHP properly as per your requirements then you might be with a suitable solution for your server scripting.
     
    RamCity, Jul 9, 2011 IP
  5. nihangshah

    nihangshah Prominent Member

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    #5
    PHP is really powerful. Wordpress and Vbulletin are good examples of can be done with PHP.
     
    nihangshah, Jul 9, 2011 IP
  6. AdsMakeSense

    AdsMakeSense Active Member

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    #6
    While HTML/CSS is the Output/Look of the Website...
    You Use PHP to Control the Output(HTML/CSS) of the Website...
     
    AdsMakeSense, Jul 9, 2011 IP
  7. akshat.gl

    akshat.gl Member

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    #7
    From your question, I guess you want to know whether PHP is good for you or not. I will make it simpler for you. If you want to stick to the position of creating websites as a graphic person, there is absolutely no need to go for PHP. If you want to do some processing which is simple enough but still it is a processing, go for javascript. It will help you in a better web designer. If you have complex applications, you need a powerful programming language, which the PHP is. You need it to , let's say, make another facebook or dp forum. If you want to make just calculator sort of apps, go for javascript and then jquery.
     
    akshat.gl, Jul 9, 2011 IP
  8. Satchii

    Satchii Active Member

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    #8
    Well, I'm only limited in HTML and CSS. This is because I just really want to focus on the front-end of designing sites but I've seen the benefits of being a back-end developer and I want to know more about it. HTML and CSS was pretty straight forward and was extremely easy to learn. Will PHP be as easy as learning HTML / CSS (Divs)??

    I've researched a bit on the web about PHP and it seems very promising!

    Some of the information I got here was a lot more useful in terms of insight and language considering most of everyone who talks about PHP talks in extreme detail when even I don't even have the slightest clue what it is and what it does. I know much about it now and how it operates..

    I don't know how many of you are still following this thread but my follow up question would be:

    What is the learning curve for PHP?

    Some Examples Below//
    Linear learning --> It is steady flow of learning
    Curve Up --> You learn the fundamentals and from there you learn PHP faster and seems more easier to write/read.
    Curve Down --> The more you learn about PHP it becomes more and more complicated

    I only ask this because I'm not very good at back-end things but I have aspired to challenge myself to learn!

    (I'm a front-end web designer and it always bugs me when I create designs if it is possible to do what I'm designing)
    (For example/ I make a image slider with a shiny overlay, move forward/backward button, gradient field for dynamic text and a little area for the slide timer and I sometimes dumb-down my designs because I'm afraid the back-end coder will question my design and say, "Wow.. that is too complicated for me to code".)

    My final surprise question is:
    Is there limits to what I can do in front-end web-design so back-end developers won't penalize me for making a near impossible widget?
    Or is nothing impossible in PHP?


    (I know there are certain uses that would be better than PHP but over-all PHP seems to be my favorite so this question is only for PHP related information)

    I already know there is a huge limit to what I can do with HTML / CSS.
    CMS and PHP are things I want to learn but seem so far and out of reach whenever I try to get started.

    BTW, thank you all who responded thus far :) great help! Totally widened my mind on this kind of stuff!
     
    Last edited: Jul 9, 2011
    Satchii, Jul 9, 2011 IP
  9. BRUm

    BRUm Well-Known Member

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    #9
    Of course not. PHP is a programming language (not markup or stylesheet language) with OO capabilities, a wide variety of libraries, third party extensions and applications.

    It is a great language :)

    This entirely depends on one's mental capacity and knowledge and wisdom of programming. If you're familiar with other C based languages the theory should be very easy to pick up, but practice matters more in reality in my opinion. Just about everything is a positive curve.

    Never limit yourself. Always experiment and push your potential. If a programmer is having difficulty with integrating your design, find another.

    I'd generalise enough to claim PHP can do just about anything you could ever want. Efficiency, speed, time and other factors may not be great but your question relates more to functionality.
     
    BRUm, Jul 9, 2011 IP
  10. brill301

    brill301 Peon

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    #10
    PHP is very useful and fairly easy to learn the basics and very useful to be an expert at. Especially when the internet is so big
     
    brill301, Jul 10, 2011 IP
  11. Trix

    Trix Peon

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    #11
    PHP is a server side processing of requests, that finally outputs html or types of data which browser can understand.

    If you have a static pages, html, css, js is much sufficient for you. But consider in the future, your website grows and it becomes hard to maintain 100's of pages, and you want to move the data to SQL. Or consider where you want to create a Template for your site, so that you don't need to worry about maintaining uniformity across pages. In all these situations just html is not enough for you. You need some server side languages that renders the html based on your needs. So it is always the best option to go with PHP. Also you can very well have your pages with extension as PHP and have html in it. So in the future if you need to scale up your application it will be helpful.

    Another advantage is its free, many many websites use them, many many forums use them, even facebook uses it. If your site is going to grow big, its the best option.
     
    Trix, Jul 10, 2011 IP
  12. Ruddo

    Ruddo Member

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    #12
    You can do anything with PHP. Look at facebook or wikipedia
     
    Ruddo, Jul 10, 2011 IP
  13. Sapphiro

    Sapphiro Well-Known Member

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    #13
    Satchii, just wondering, do you happen to be from Singapore? I got a feeling we're from the same area from the way you describe your country as a metropolis.

    Anyway, PHP is under back-end web development. Web development isn't just back-end, there can be front-end web development as well (HTML/CSS and javascript, jquery comes under this)

    For front-end development, basically you "structure" the way the website looks and some of the on page functionalities.

    Back-end development like PHP is basically used for shopping carts, login systems, and even the forum posting functionality we're using here right now is using PHP. (There are alternatives as well, .JSP and .NET)
     
    Sapphiro, Jul 10, 2011 IP
  14. Satchii

    Satchii Active Member

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    #14
    Thanks everyone! :)

    The insight was wonderful and enlightening!

    I'm only in Singapore for a short while~
    After I graduate from the National Uni of Singapore I think I might go somewhere in North America
     
    Satchii, Jul 12, 2011 IP
  15. elfguy

    elfguy Member

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    #15
    PHP is the most used language ever for the backend..
     
    elfguy, Jul 12, 2011 IP
  16. diviny

    diviny Guest

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    #16
    PHP is one of the most popular server side scripting languages running today. It is used for creating dynamic webpages that interact with the user offering customized information. PHP offers many advantages; it is fast, stable, secure, easy to use and open source .
     
    diviny, Jul 12, 2011 IP
  17. rajmv

    rajmv Peon

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    #17
    php is code on the server used to make a website dynamic, the piece that possibly talks to a database.
    javascript and ajax are used in the browser to process results from php.

    php is great, i've been using it as my primary coding language for about 7 years now, and it's not boring yet.. :)

    it's a long learning curve though..
     
    rajmv, Jul 12, 2011 IP
  18. drhowarddrfine

    drhowarddrfine Peon

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    #18
    Except that's far from the truth. Java is.
     
    drhowarddrfine, Jul 13, 2011 IP
  19. oltranzista

    oltranzista Peon

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    #19
    I think he was talking about the backend of websites, which PHP would be the most used.
     
    oltranzista, Jul 20, 2011 IP
  20. drhowarddrfine

    drhowarddrfine Peon

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    #20
    I'm talking about the back end and my answer still stands. Java is (and Java is not JavaScript).
     
    drhowarddrfine, Jul 20, 2011 IP