A 3 page PHP crash course covering from basics up to using web Forms

[jian2587]

This is a 3 page PHP crash course I wrote for people who are interested in picking up PHP as fast as is possible. It covers all the basics up to loops, control flows, boolean logics and web forms. As concepts are not fully explained, but demonstrated by means of brief but all-encompassing sample codes along with aiding comments, some programming experience is assumed. Some HTML knowledge is also required for the section on HTML web forms.

After reading this 3 page PHP crash course tutorial, you should possess enough PHP knowledge to write complete PHP programs.

If you all think this is good, I'll write the next one. Coming up next in the crash course series is a tutorial on mySQL + PHP, which may also include file uploading. It should be enough to get you started on developing big PHP applications like simple CMS, email service and the like.

Still later, I may write one on security. Good for secure email service, community website like facebook, friendster, etc.

All in all, everything from basic to really advanced stuffs should be fully covered in just 10 pages.

I use standard margins and Times New Roman size 10, which is quite big and comfortable for reading. To summarize everything into few pages is really a testament of my concise writing skills

p/s: feel free to link it, or mirror it in its original unmodified form on your websites. Your help is greatly appreciated.

[penagate]

To summarize everything into few pages is really a testament of my concise writing skills

With a big-headed comment like that, I'm going to have to check this one out.

Review coming up soon.

[jian2587]

lol never really meant that, in real life i suck at writing . Feel free to criticize . I am experimenting with a new way of writing tutorial, and try to get the reader accustomed to the language as soon as possible in as short a tutorial as is possible, minus all the bulk of explanation that usually comes with most tutorials. Of course, with such a short tutorial, you don't get many extra stuffs (e.g. like teaching how to use ?: tertiary operator, or setting up php on a windows machine), only the bare minimums and the necessary ones.

Would love to read your review. :wave

[penagate]

I get what you are trying to do, but if I didn't know any of that stuff, I don't think I would come out much wiser for having read that.

If you'd left out most of the reference stuff, replacing it with links to php.net documentation pages, and simply explained what PHP is and how it fits in to a server environment, I think that would be much more helpful. As it is, it's just a quick cheat-sheet for operators and some functions; not really a tutorial. Leaving out 'bulk of explanation' doesn't work.

Also, be wary of making unqualified sweeping statements. For example, "Comments are ignored by the PHP interpreter, hence are invisible." Invisible to whom? Ignored in what way? And you haven't explained why anyone would want a comment.

In short, don't try to touch on everything, but instead expand on a few more important details; it'll be worth much more.

[jian2587]

ah perhaps i should've clarified on the intended target.

some programming experience is assumed.

it's not for complete newbies though. It's for anyone who knows a bit of programming or some other programming languages but not php. So they'll pretty much know most of the concepts, and belaboring on them will be tedious and ponderous.
I agree with most of your comments, and I'd certainly agree it's not much of a tutorial. But it's not much of a concern which I need to change or fix, because your description of what the crash course is exactly how I intended it to be. You reminded me what a tutorial should be, so I don't think I should call it a tutorial. And the suggestion on links is good; I'll try to incorporate that.

[superbovine]

Your intro line is incorrect. PHP is a scripting language which mainly used as a server-side scripting language to generate webpages. However, it was design specifically for generation of webpages, it does support command line functionality.

[jian2587]

yes you're right, but my statement covers a broader sense. Customized responses cover webpages and non-webpages. Indeed, webpage-only is an understatement of the capability of PHP.

[visualAd]

PHP is a HTML embedded, interpreted, server side scripting language.

But you can run a PHP script from the command line, as a CGI script or as a web server module and even embed it inside any other data medium you please.

[CornedBee]

PHP is text-embedded, not necessarily HTML-embedded.

[visualAd]

It can be embedded in within binary data too. Hence why I said any other data medium.

[CornedBee]

Um, binary data may be risky with the interpreter marks.

[visualAd]

Indeed, but I have seen people embed PHP within image files before.

[CornedBee]

You have? That's dreadful!

[visualAd]

Without much success, for the reason you cited above and when I told him about the GD extension he used that