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lucas filgueiras
Courses Plus Student 498 PointsWhat language should I learn for this purpose ? I'm lost
Hi guys, I started to learn how to program around 6 months ago. I have a pretty solid understanding on HTML, CSS, Jquery and an ok understanding of PHP. I just finished the whole PHP development track here on treehouse and I understood about 90% of it. The thing is, I've just followed along with the videos, so I understand how I can use the language only to do those specifics tasks. I want to build an interactive website, where the user can login and he/she will have a dashboard where they can see about their orders etc... Is it better for me to find somewhere else how to do it with php or take the ruby on rails course, as it seems during the track they teach how to do it ? Also, I dont know much difference about the two languages. Is ruby on rails for ruby, the same as jquery is for javascript ? Thanks
2 Answers
thomascawthorn
22,986 PointsRemember that a language is simply a tool for creating. There are lots of different hammers available but you can build a house with any of them. The real key is knowing how to build your house and this comes from experience / more learning.
If it were me, I would use an existing framework.
Frameworks such as Ruby on Rails, which uses the Ruby language or Laravel, which uses php (both have courses on Treehouse) are essentially blueprints for your application. In every application you build you're likely to come across the same start-up requirements: Users, authentication (logging in and out), forms, database connections, MySQL code, creating database scheme, handling messages, form validation -the list goes on.
Pretty much every essential thing you need for modern MVC (Model View Controller) development is wrapped up into these packages.
Frameworks are built using Object Oriented Practices so you'll need to brush up on to fully understand how they work.
I learned loads taking the Ruby on Rails courses here on Treehouse, but develop with php and laravel. The similarities in design are many!
Hope this helps,
Tom
Louis Otto
23,264 PointsHi Lucas,
PHP is more than enough for the back-end of a website (login, dashboard data etc) you will need a good understanding of MySQL to go along with it. HTML and CSS will feature heavily in the sites look and feel, and jQuery/Javascript can be used to improve interactions. If you want to take your PHP further there is a book I recommend more than any other, its called PHP for the Web: Visual QuickStart Guide (4th Edition) by Larry Ullman. If you read that you will take your PHP to the level required to create great websites. Most of all, best of luck!
lucas filgueiras
Courses Plus Student 498 Pointslucas filgueiras
Courses Plus Student 498 PointsThank you, your answer helped me to get an understanding of the whole picture. I've spent a lot of time learning PHP already, so maybe learning Laravel would make more sense to me now.