I receive lots of emails and instant messages from PHP newbies asking me why their script (or the script they copied form some site) is not working as they expected. The emails and instant messages alone make me happy since it reflects the person’s interest in learning ‘why’ something works and ‘why’ something else doesn’t.
Here’s my advise to you dear PHP newbies. Don’t rush. Take it slowly and take on simple problems first. Most of the time, newbies don’t even understand how the script he’s looking at works. Most newbies, no matter how smart they are, are dumbfounded by the simplest PHP problems simply because they still don’t fully understand the basics of PHP. Dear newbie, It’s not your fault if you don’t understand the basics of PHP yet though I think it will soon be your fault if they will keep on not understanding the basics.
To newbies, I say read these first:
By the time you’ve finished and understood the above sections, then you’re most likely ready to tackle on the more advanced stuff.
One more important piece of advise to newbies. Try experimenting first. Experiment a lot of times and if you still can’t figure it out, then ask questions but don’t ask for the solution. Rather, show the person you’re asking what you’ve tried and ask them what you missed. That way, spoonfeeding is prevented and you get to think and exercise your mind. PHP experts will be happy helping you this way.
Lastly, this article is not meant to make newbies look stupid. I was a newbie once. Rather, I wrote this article in the hope to help newbies learn more of PHP.
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