php sql asp cgi perl... where to start learning?

[ochazuke]

I'd like to find a book or something that gives an overview of all the internet software and how it all fits together. I can find a lot of books on any one of them, but none that put the whole mosaic together -- the big picture.

Any suggestions?

[DS1]

1. I'd recommend downloading the 30 day trial of

Macromedia's Dreamweaver 2004, and setting up a local installation of apache and php and mysql.

There's tons of sites that will walk you through the setting up part, Dreamweaver helps glue it all together with php pages

[tridim]

2. Probably bad advice,

but I learned strictly by example and Google searches. I've never read a perl book, although I have the camel book for reference. There's so much out there on the Internets that it's entirely possible to learn by trial and error.

[Deja Q]

3. Try India for one thing.

Forgive my cyncicism, but there's where as many IT jobs as possible are going. And notice how our "compassionate conservatives" are more keen to build defense-based friendships with them than to promote job-based relationships with us here at home.

The only jobs that will stay will be PC support based, and expect that to be devalued.

They can sit on their "faith" and spin on it.

[no name no slogan]

4. Start with a simple language, like JavaScript or Perl or PHP

These three languages are loosely based on C, so their syntax is very similar.

If you want to get going on creating full-blown web apps, start with the LAMP structure: Linux running Apache, MySQL and PHP. PHP is very easy to pick up, and lets you be productive with not alot of work. Also, because of the nature of the language, PHP apps tend to be faster than CGI/Perl apps, and you can also embed PHP code into static HTML with ease.

If you want to do fancy browser-based stuff, pick up JavaScript as well. It's the de facto standard client-side language, and is also quite similar to PHP, and Perl, for that matter.

Perl is a good all-around language that's useful for other things besides CGI scripts. It's a great admin tool, and does a great job on tasks like parsing logs and text. It is also quite easy to pick up the basics, although mastering is another big task entirely.

As far as "classic" ASP goes, it still has its uses for maintaining legacy applications. Also, it is a MS-specific language, and only runs on MS web servers. Most "new" MS-Web development is moving to ASP.NET, which is a whole new ballgame-- it bears little if any resemblence to "classic" ASP.

Also, learn SQL-- at least the basic commands (like SELECT, UPDATE, INSERT, DELETE). If you build any kind of web app, chances are you'll be using a database of some type. If you can't at least add/update a database record from a web page, you won't find much work.

As far as books.....I've bought a lot of books on these languages, but I actually learned more by visiting web sites, and learning by example. I like to keep some of the encyclopedic books for reference, but IMHO it's easier to pick up these languages by copying/changing examples than doing exercizes in a book.

And despite what some people may say, there IS work in this country for web developers. I've been doing this full-time since 1997, and I've only had one long stretch of joblessness (this year, Feb-Jul). However, you'll need to be on your toes and be able to keep up with the latest developments in technology and ALWAYS be learning new technologies-- or at least be familiar with them.

Even though a lot of IT stuff is moving offshore, much of it is coming back, too-- partially due to the quality of the offshore programming. Offshore programmers are very good at rote tasks, but generally lack the creativity and flexibility of their American counterparts. They're good for "grunt work", but anything that requires a tiny amount of creativity is lost on them.

GOOD LUCK if you choose this mission. WebDev is an interesting and challenging field to work in today, and the competition is fierce.

Signed,
-- a seven-year veteran of the web industry