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John Wetz
3,750 PointsBack End Website Management
So I have a question on backend portions of websites. Things like Login systems, reservation systems (hotels/airlines) food ordering (pizza/chinese ect).
What languages do you need to learn to do these kinds of things? I am fairly confident in my ability to create websites that work well for most front end things, but as far as form submissions after they have been completed, ordering systems after the order is processed and so on, I am kind of lost on what to do for that kind of stuff.
I am not asking for "how to do that" as much as what do I need to learn to do this. What languages/tools are commonly used to do these kinds of things so that when a client's customer books a room, it automatically updates in their database with the room and so on?
I believe it is a mix of PHP, Mysql, and Javascript?
3 Answers
Kristian Terziev
28,449 PointsYou're on the right track. I would recommend learning php, MySQL and maybe some basic JavaScript. After you're comfortable working with php you can learn a framework such as Laravel. It is extreamly helpful, will increase your productivity and you'll find yourself in a situation where you don't even need that much of MySQL or JavaScript. However, I do suggest you get to know them since you never know when you will have to use them.
NOTE: I would go for the "php development" (link below). You should complete it and I recommend installing a Linux on your PC. If not as your only OS at least make a dual boot.
Codin - Codesmite
8,600 PointsAny backend server language can accomplish this.
The options on Team Treehouse for Tracks for backend server languages are: PHP, Python, Ruby on Rails and even Java.
Databases would be used in conjuction with the backend language to store data such as mySql, noSql and MongoDB are quite commonly used databases.
I think a good starting point would be starting the PHP development track on here.
PHP is the most commonly used backend server language as of the moment (Nearly 80% of the entire web uses PHP for its backend server language).
The PHP development track also includes Object Orientated Programming and a brief look and venture into using PHP to access data stored in mySql databases.
Ruby and Python are also very good backend languages but do not have the level of market share that PHP currently has. (In some cases they are better structured languages but just haven't caught on yet in the mainstream).
Javascript and and jQuery are not actually backend languages, they are frontend languages as it is the client side that runs the code and not the server. Java on the other hand can be used as a backend language (Javascript and Java are two completely different languages which is a common misconception as they share similiar names, Java being invented by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and Javascript being invented by the engineers that worked at Netscape / Mozilla.
Hope this helps :)
John Wetz
3,750 PointsThank you both tremendously for your replies. Very informative and helpful. I'm really trying to improve my skills for web development and do not want to stop at just the front end side, just very overwhelmed at first with "Where do I start!! Ahh!!" kind of thoughts. Thank you again and I will be starting the PHP development track!