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Stephanie B
10,082 PointsBridge Between PHP and Laravel Course?
Is there something that I should have taken after the PHP track and before the Laravel course? This is my first experience with frameworks, and the course is not as detailed for beginners as I thought it would be, even though it's supposed to be a beginner level course. I've enjoyed all the courses I've taken on Treehouse, but Laravel leaves a lot to be desired. I'm feeling pretty discouraged at this point and am ready to give up on it. Again, maybe I'm not ready for it yet.
3 Answers
Alejandro Hernandez
7,629 PointsLaravel can be tough at first. Remember its a framework for PHP, so I recommend becoming real comfortable w/ PHP before approaching any type of framework.
Things I would recommend to learn before hand are:
- Learn PHP + MySQL
- Have an understanding of Object Oriented PHP
- Basic HTML + CSS
- Command Line/Terminal Basics
I wouldn't give up. Laravel gets real fun once it clicks.
Also checkout: www.laracasts.com
miguelcastro2
Courses Plus Student 6,573 PointsFrameworks can be difficult at first to work with. One of the reasons is that you now have to follow a specific design pattern for building applications. Many people who get into programming in languages such as PHP, initially start with learning the PHP language and eventually developing some programs based on some ideas they have picked up a long the way. Not many people learn effective application design early on. Frameworks help in not only creating applications, but re-enforcing good design practices and principles.
Laravel is using a lot of cutting edge PHP and for even the more experienced PHP programmers there is a learning curve getting accustomed to it. Moreover, if you have never used an MVC framework before it will also add an additional challenge. Don't give up! Learning MVC will help you tremendously along the way to becoming a better developer and understanding good software design.
Stephanie B
10,082 PointsThanks. If more experienced programmers have trouble, I guess this is going to be an uphill battle for me. I've only been using PHP for a little over a year and I've never used an MVC framework, but I'm anxious to learn because even junior positions require it and I can't find a job without knowing at least one.
Dee Barizo
8,402 PointsI worked with Codeigniter before working with Laravel. Codeigniter is not as powerful as Laravel but from my experience, it's easier to get started with and deploy. Also, from my research, there are more Codeigniter jobs out there (but that is balanced by the higher number of developers that know Codeigniter).
Also, check the following courses if you haven't yet.
Stephanie B
10,082 PointsStephanie B
10,082 PointsThanks! I've actually completed all of the PHP track with the exception of JavaScript and JQuery because I really hate front-end design and can't bring myself to get through it. I studied OOP with Java. I haven't had to learn anything "new" in a while, so this is pretty daunting, as Miguel suggests below. Maybe a course on MVC would be a better introduction to frameworks. I'll check out laracasts.com.