NYCPHP Meetup

[B.A.S.]

David Mintz wrote:
> 
> 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.

Now that you mention it, my PHP Function Reference could be used as a 
pretty hefty club should I ever feel the need for self-defense...

> 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:

Thanks for the welcome. I already like it here, and it's good to know 
that I'm not alone on several counts.

> * 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 (-:  !

Solid advice, all of it. Thanks again!

Bev