NYCPHP Meetup

[David Mintz]

On Jan 17, 2008 3:30 PM, B.A.S. <lists at nopersonal.info> wrote:

>
>
> I hope that when the days get longer and the weather warmer I'll be able
> to do exactly that. I live in Orange, NJ, so Manhattan isn't that far,
> however the closest NJT station is a local stop and the trains only run
> about once an hour (even less on the weekends). Then there's the
> question of getting back home--the train station isn't far from my
> apartment, but it's deserted at night. Being a woman I'm not real keen
> on the idea of being there after dark, you know?
>


Well, you could take some self-defense classes in addition to all your PHP
studies and carry some weapon such as one of those pepper spray things....
oops, getting OT.

Seriously, though:  welcome to the party. You will like it here, and I am in
solidarity with your situation, as I'm a sort of self-taught,
humanities-trained part-time hobbyist lightweight who aspires to do it
better than a part-time hobbyist lightweight... Things I've found helpful:

* Take a course from a good instructor, the programming language hardly
matters. I studied Java to no good practical professional purpose, but the
discipline and problem-solving practice was great for my programming
generally.

* Read those books and tutorials, but keep a skeptical mind. Times have
since changed for the better, but I learned some sloppy habits back in the
days of PHP3 because I trusted what I read.

* Learn to use Subversion, even if only so you will have a backup and so you
can roll back whenever you make a really terrible mess.

* Smarty is not a panacea nor a substitute for discipline. I used to be a
Smarty believer, now I'm more of a Zend Framework believer. (Yes they aren't
mutually exclusive, but we digress...)

* Don't get too obsessed with planning planning planning at the expense of
doing. I have been in that trap and have only recently recovered. (My
problem has been working 100% alone and lacking of a tech-savvy boss or
demanding customer to bust my chops, so I have had the luxury of saying "i
don't like it, this isn't good" and wiping out a project and starting over
four or five times.)

* Validate input, filter output (-:  !


-- 
David Mintz
http://davidmintz.org/

The subtle source is clear and bright
The tributary streams flow through the darkness
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