Student Looking For Guidance Looking for people to help me get to the school I want

Hey guys! So listen up, i have always been interested in programming ever since I first came in contact with Flashs actionscript, But this year I decided I wanted to study it in a school. I applied and they told me they were gonna start the new year in September and would allow me to join. But! Since my education level is actually to low for the study I must prove to them I am really motivated and able to learn more then just animating some circles with actionscript. And so 3 weeks ago I got started on PHP and mySQL ( on their advice) it's all going pretty well but since they wanted me to show them a application I can build with it I thought of the idea to make one of those text based rpg kinda games you see on the web all the time. The hardest part for me is not learning all the scripts and functions but more the entire structure of putting these loose techniques into one whole, because I just lack the expierence. So I am asking: are there any people here willing to mentor me through the next couple of weeks ( through msn, chat w/e )in php and help me learn this stuff even faster, and hopefully blow their minds when I show them what I've learned in a short time. Please understand me I am not looking to copying scripts or scamming them, I am highly motivated to learn this. Also I am not looking to stalk you all day, just some discussions about these things prefably on chat since it's more efficient.Thanks alot in advance, GrSam

Hey guys!
So listen up, i have always been interested in programming ever since I first came in contact with Flashs actionscript,
But this year I decided I wanted to study it in a school. I applied and they told me they were gonna start the new year in September and would allow me to join. But! Since my education level is actually to low for the study I must prove to them I am really motivated and able to learn more then just animating some circles with actionscript.

And so 3 weeks ago I got started on PHP and mySQL ( on their advice) it's all going pretty well but since they wanted me to show them a application I can build with it I thought of the idea to make one of those text based rpg kinda games you see on the web all the time.

GrSam...I really wouldn't recommend an RPG for an application...besides how difficult it will be and long it will be take to create, a school is more of a business-based company...they want to see a business tool that you could use, not a video game (although that would technically qualify too). It could be as simple as a financial (personal expense) calculator that transfers the data to another page and prints it out pretty. Although I've known HTML, CSS and JavaScript pretty well, I have only now started utilizing PHP, although I knew how it worked before and it comes real easy if you understand basic programming logic, such as what you can do with JavaScript.

For a simple tutorial on any primary programming language that utilizes the internet, I always recommend that you start at W3Schools. I use them as both a tutorial and as a reference guide. You could learn a lot from their very basic material alone. For you in particular you should study their PHP and SQL sections. Keep in mind that the SQL section is general...there are several different SQLs out there, such as mySQL and Oracle, but each may have slightly different syntax and/or functions depending upon what you are trying to do.

I'd be happy to help get you started, especially if it has to do with the database; it takes a while to understand how multiple tables relate in a single database and how you can obtain information from multiple tables at one time.

GrSam...I really wouldn't recommend an RPG for an application...besides how difficult it will be and long it will be take to create, a school is more of a business-based company...they want to see a business tool that you could use, not a video game (although that would technically qualify too). It could be as simple as a financial (personal expense) calculator that transfers the data to another page and prints it out pretty. Although I've known HTML, CSS and JavaScript pretty well, I have only now started utilizing PHP, although I knew how it worked before and it comes real easy if you understand basic programming logic, such as what you can do with JavaScript.

 

For a simple tutorial on any primary programming language that utilizes the internet, I always recommend that you start at W3Schools. I use them as both a tutorial and as a reference guide. You could learn a lot from their very basic material alone. For you in particular you should study their PHP and SQL sections. Keep in mind that the SQL section is general...there are several different SQLs out there, such as mySQL and Oracle, but each may have slightly different syntax and/or functions depending upon what you are trying to do.

 

I'd be happy to help get you started, especially if it has to do with the database; it takes a while to understand how multiple tables relate in a single database and how you can obtain information from multiple tables at one time.

hey thnx for your reply! I should have added a little more detail about the school, it's a game dev/ app dev study. They start out with php/ mysql and move on to stuff like c# and c++, I am although you're probably right about the rpg being difficult.

 

Any suggestions as to what would be an great online app to make is welcome. At the moment I have a wamp server running on my computer and have made a little website where I have a page that loads stuff out of the database and a page to input data, also I have made a leveling system for a "character" using php codes I've learned.

 

At the moment I'm focussing on pure mysql syntax like: create table pet ( Id int auto_increment, primary key(Id), name varchar(30). Etc.

I would like to ask you some questions as to how 'proffesional' websites put these things together structure wise ( how they handle profiles, the forms and database aspect) I still have no clue about the bigger picture

Do you use msn google talk or anything?

Before you _even_ think about learning PHP, you must know what HTML is. If you dont know html, Start here.

http://www.pagetutor.com/html_tutor/index.html - This is where exactly I started from 10-15 years back.

 

Now, PHP.

 

The best way to learn php is to :-

 

1. Setup a test website with PHP enabled.

2. Learn how to put your files on PC to a Server. *uploading* (connecting to ftp and drag/drop files)

3. Type and upload your first HELLO WORLD script. Basically, Making a text file with php code in it and saving it as *.php and uploading it.

 

e.g. Hello World Script

<? echo 'Hello World!, This is PHP'; ?>

Save the above code in a text file but put the extension as .php. Simply, upload this file to your Server and run it by typing the URL.

If you upload anything.php at your site say ... mytestsite.qupis.com, then you access it by typing : http://anything.qupis.com/anything.php

 

PHP Manual for Quick Help (the best and most important resource to have) : http://php.net/manual/en/

Before you _even_ think about learning PHP, you must know what HTML is. If you dont know html, Start here.

http://www.pagetutor.com/html_tutor/index.html - This is where exactly I started from 10-15 years back.

 

Now, PHP.

 

The best way to learn php is to :-

 

1. Setup a test website with PHP enabled.

2. Learn how to put your files on PC to a Server. *uploading* (connecting to ftp and drag/drop files)

3. Type and upload your first HELLO WORLD script. Basically, Making a text file with php code in it and saving it as *.php and uploading it.

 

e.g. Hello World Script

 

Save the above code in a text file but put the extension as .php. Simply, upload this file to your Server and run it by typing the URL.

If you upload anything.php at your site say ... mytestsite.qupis.com, then you access it by typing : http://anything.qupis.com/anything.php

 

PHP Manual for Quick Help (the best and most important resource to have) : http://php.net/manual/en/

hey thnx for the reply but I do have understanding of HTML and to be honest echoing out that statement is something I've done already FTP is also something I am familiar with. What I haven't found yet is a free hosting / domain name that allows me to use php and mysql so if you could help me with finding that i would really apreciate it.

 

But the goal of my post is to find someone willing to chat with me from time to time to give me feedback on what I'm doing, if it's wrong or could be done better etc etc.

 

Tutorials are allways welcome but they hardly ever explain the bigger picture of a dynamic website, and how mutiple pieces fit the puzzle.

Feel free to bug me if you have MSN messengermmatt300 ***at@at*** hot mail dawt comSorry it's so cryptic... I get enough junk on that account as it is :angel:I love to help, just don't expect me to code for you. I'll be happy to provide helpful code and direction, just don't expect it to fit right into your scripts