If you knew nothing substantial about programming, how long would it take, full-time, devoting 45 plus hours a week, to code a site as large and complex as, say, wikipedia? As a project for my university, I am embarking on a six month long experiential project in order to increase my knowledge and develop new skills. If I was willing to pour over programming books and software, what, in your much more experienced opinions, is the best result I could hope for? What can I physically accomplish in six months? I need to write a proposal for this project with an end and weekly goals, but I'm not exactly sure of the amount of work a project this large entails. I intend to create a space where people can upload and edit large batches of text, videos, and pictures to modules, which can then be linked to form a kind of workbook. Ideally this site would then be used by my university, or at least adopted and improved upon. Again, what would be a tangible goal that I can feasibly reach? (Also, I will not be attending classes for the duration of this project. It will be my first priority.)
My advice is don't bother custom programming it. Just use MediaWiki. It's the wiki that wikipedia uses.
Thank you for the advice, but unfortunately I cannot use that in good conscience because the website that I am trying to design would be similar to the website that called wikiversity, run by the company that runs wikimedia. I feel that if I used mediawiki it would make the sites too similar. I feel that I should steer clear of those types of situations. Also, the reason I am still trying to design this project is because after I had the idea, when I realized that wikimedia had done it already, I looked into what they had done, to see if I could contribute a module or two and be of help. When I began to study the site more closely, I started to think of the inherent differences between wikiversity and what I have tentatively labeled OSTI. These differences are what has inspired me to go through with this project, although with competition from wikiversity it may never leave the ground. Again, I am grateful for your advice, and am sorry for the long winded explanation. Thank you.
It wasn't that long. What are the differences, if I may ask. I liked the idea of Wikiversity, but it didn't turn out so well.
Trust me, this isn't going to be easy, and it most definitely isn't fit for the HTML section. You're going to have to start studying up PHP, MySQL, and devote a bunch of time for it.
Whoaw.. as long as know how too use CTRL+C and CTRL+V.. and then visit some scripting site and forums... lol
The "problem" is that to do the basic coding so that it looks similar from the front end and has the same basic-ish functionality isnt going to be that difficult to learn at all really. Where programming becomes more difficult is when you start building in error handling, making code suitable to run on a farm of servers, ensuring data integrity, security, efficiency of code etc. These are both time consuming and more difficult to do plus not really well thought out by inexperienced programmers.
What types of programming should I focus on first? What would be the most useful? Would you recommend any specific tutorials or learning materials? (Preferably free) Again, any help is much appreciated. And thank you all very much for responding.
PHP and MySQL would be your best bet. Visit php .net and w3schools .com to learn how to program the basics, then use google and sites like koders .com or google code to learn the more advanced stuff. You will also need to know some html and css for the front end. Your project is very possible given the dedication. Good luck to you.
First of all... what sort of thing are you wanting to achieve? If you are wanting to create desktop applications then PHP isnt really the answer
If you will try hard, you can do it. Programming won't look so complicated after few months once you get in. I recommend learning 1st basics (XHTML,CSS,maybe little bit of javascript) and then go for dynamic websites... this means PHP/MYSQL... Once you will be good at these, you can start widening your knowledge by learning some AJAX, maybe other languages. When you want to develop desktop applications, then I recommned C or C++.
Depends somewhat on your background and mindset - but I imagine you may be surprised by what you can accomplish in six months. Should be a good learning experience if nothing else!
The coding is only a portion of the problem. Project management to include the checks and balances needed within such an application will be considerable. Controlling the scope of the project is always of concern to determine when it is complete. This is a rather major undertaking. IMHO.