PHP Newbie...

[Guest deadzombie]

Where is the best way to learn how to set up a PHP based site from scratch?

I've used alot of PHP sites, moderating forums, posting daily news stories, managing downloads and such.

I have never been involved in setting up a PHP site, but I would like to learn. It's for my own personal site, and it doesn't need to be that secure or fancy.

Thanks.

[Weasel]

I've only written pieces and parts of websites in PHP, (i.e. the poll, graffiti board, mp3 server, and forum). You might want to try looking at a PHP portal. The portals are entire sites that have Everything programmed it PHP, you just have to provide the content. They have news, polls, forums, shoutboxes, etc..

I'm sure you could learn about website programming in PHP by looking at the source code.

The two that I know of are PHPNuke (which is integrated with PHPbb [thats the forum]), and vbPortal (which is integrated with vBulletin obviously).

[X]

I would like to use php for my site but I dont know where to begin.. The server already has php so... If someone could tell me where I can find info on building php sites and stuff or good php news posting scripts or anything, that would be great! :)

[Weasel]

check out www.almostsmart.com - most of it is written in PHP.

For news I would recommend on of the scripts listed here.

I have used serveral different forums and I can say the only one that I like is vBulletin. It is what neowin uses and is a must for those who want to customize it to suit your every need. For modifications to your forum look here.

I wrote the script that displays the 6 newest forum posts on the main page, it's not very long and neowin has a similar script that operates on their main page. E-mail me if you want it.

For the poll I would recommend Advanced Poll 2.0. You can customize the colors inside the admin script however if you really want to take a crack at PHP you can modify booth.php to match your site design exactly.

Oh, and here's my pride and joy--the graffiti script found on my main page. I will offer this script I wrote to anyone who requests it, for free of course. Just send me an e-mail :)

[X]

Thanks alot! :) I am using phpbb2 (havent put any mods/hacks on it yet) for my board because im not going to pay for a board from vb. You can stop by and checkout my board by clicking my sig link :)

[Guest deadzombie]

You're talking PHP scripts. Already above my head.

When i say I've used alot of PHP sites maybe I was unclear; I've moderated and entered alot of data on PHP sites through the sites GUI.

I know nothing about PHP. Where do I start? Is there a place that even defines what PHP really is?

Let's act like I'm a moron...shouldn't be a stretch for some. ;)

[X]

Originally posted by deadzombie

You're talking PHP scripts. Already above my head.

When i say I've used alot of PHP sites maybe I was unclear; I've moderated and entered alot of data on PHP sites through the sites GUI.

I know nothing about PHP. Where do I start? Is there a place that even defines what PHP really is?

Let's act like I'm a moron...shouldn't be a stretch for some. ;)

Im kinda in the same boat, other than the phpbb2 forum I setup with some help from pinky. (though he didnt register on my board :( afterwards..)

I really would like to know where I can find info about building my site in php. At this point my site is just some simple html.. :(

[Cubano]

Well, your best bet is to head over to http://www.php.net.

They have the documentation.

Then go to http://www.zend.com ,where you can read the tutorials.

You will also find sites in the Links section of PHP.net's site.

[Guest deadzombie]

Thanks everyone, this helps so very much. Amazing what a tutorial and a few days can do for a brain...

[X]

Originally posted by deadzombie

Thanks everyone, this helps so very much. Amazing what a tutorial and a few days can do for a brain...

:p maybe you could give me some tips now.. I havent done anything but messed around with some html :( stop by the board some time and post some tips or links to good php tut sites or something! :)

[Guest deadzombie]

Cubano said:

Well, your best bet is to head over to http://www.php.net.

Go through the beginner tutorials they have. They start by explaining what PHP is, give samples (that you can do as you follow along) of easy PHP code and how it interacts with HTML and databases, and take you through a generalized setup.

Add that to an online manual and you have everything you need to start, even if your braindead like myself.

Damn good site.

<?php echo $HTTP_USER_AGENT; ?>

[X]

Originally posted by deadzombie

even if your braindead like myself.

<?php echo $HTTP_USER_AGENT; ?>

rofl :p

[rpgman]

here's a few portal scripts to check...

http://www.xoops.com

http://www.postnuke.com

http://www.zorum.com

http://phpwebsite.appstate.edu

[BenchRacer]

Also there are a lot of great books on the subject out there. The folks over at sitepoint recently released a book entitled 'Build Your Own Database Driven Website Using PHP & MySQL'.

Chad