How did you learn to code?

[tomj]

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As many of you know, I'm relatively new to this game and off to a pretty good start I might add.

However, I am really trying to learn how to code..

I've bought HTML for dummies but that aint doing it for me....kinda got a mental block going on there..

I have self taught myself by right clicking and viewing source and then editing the code in frontpage. I can read the code and have a fairly good idea what it says to me but would not be able to sit down and write a line......

How did the people here learn to code?....and are there any tips you can share?

Cheers <<//>>>> aaaaaaargh

[NaturalInstinct]

i've often found that the "for dummies" books aren't as good as they're cracked up to be. Try the "sams teach yourself" series, i'm sure they must do a beginners guide to HTML and they're much better in my opinion.

[mcol]

hmmm...how to learn, lets see.

1. Scratch frontpage. HTML is scripting not coding, frontpage just complicates matters. You don't need a complex program, just a simple text editor like textpad (free download) or even notepad.

2. Once you can create a simple page in notepad/textpad, then go for an HTML editor. My favourite is homesite 4.5 but there are plenty of others.

3. Don't look at other people's source till you can write simple pages yourself. Then you might understand it.

3. Dreamweaver is the work of the devil, suited only to graphic designers to whom HTML is the work of the devil.

4. Dummies books are patronising. Search the web for HTML 101 instead.

5. Good luck.

[morleymouse]

Ill go against everything mcol said, not that this doesn't work, but this is how I learnt:

HTML;
made pages using frontpage, edited code in html view and learnt that way. Looked at other sites code to learn some fancy bits and bobs, learnt meta tags etc from tutorials online.

I dont do books, trial an error is the way forward. Make pages and see what it looks like, then change it to make it work how you want.

SCRIPTS;
downloaded a few scripts off hotscripts.com and looked at them, then went to sites like php.net (for PHP... obviously) to work out how to use funtions and what they were.

Again no books, books cost money (im tight as a ducks a**) and waste time. Trial and error... the way forwards!

This little bit of advice guarentees nothing, you may be a book type of person. Im not, as you have probably guessed. Anyway best of luck

Dan

[rogerlittin]

Sold my sole to the devil and use dreamweaver.

Do pages in split screen mode so I can see the code that is being created in the top window as I create the design in the bottom window.

As for javascript and php, I start with the code that dw produces and look at how it works. When I'm debuging php I use alot of var_debug() and echo statements so I can follow the path that the script is taking.

There are some good online tutorials at http://www.w3schools.com or http://www.phpbuilder.com

As for books, Haven't got any for html or php but I agree with NaturalInstinct the Sams series are pretty good. Got a few of them for c++, vb and linux. You may be able to get a free editor with one of them. Sometimes they have a cd with examples and software included.

[ianm]

I did a combination of what mcol and Dan say.

I learnt HTML from looking at a learn HTML web site (can't remember which one - it was ages ago) and then starting from scratch and just building a basic page. I've never used anything other than a basic text editor for writing HTML.

Like Dan I learnt PHP from looking at other people's scripts and working through them - probably had an advantage in that I'd been programming in Basic, C and Java for ages - so the logic of PHP wasn't a problem just slightly different syntax.

[watcher]

Started to create basic web pages using Namo web editor - hand modify HTML where appropriate.

As for PHP & Perl - software is my "proper" trade !

[tomj]

thanks for this guys!...I'm definately not a books person.....however I seem to have shelves full of them...hmmmmm

but, I'm gonna try a few of the things already said then go from there!

keep them coming, I need all the suggestions there are!

[NaturalInstinct]

I would actually disagree with mcol.

I would personally say that frontpage is the work of the devil because it produces terrible code and teaches very bad working practices but i would say that dreamweaver is a lot better, it's not perfect but definitely a lot better.

I would use a decent html editor, homesite is good, i use asp web matrix, it's easier than using notepad because it'll do line counts, indent everything for you, colour code things etc but it won't change your code.

Occasionally though it's helpful to see something visually, like a complicated table. For this I would use dreamweaver and once it looks nice i'd copy and paste the html back into a text editor and go from there.

[tomj]

just downloaded the latest version of DW on a 30 day trial.

I tried to start something and got lost within 30 seconds.

I think I'll tackle it again in the morning after a full nights sleep

you see, I've got a lovely site done gratis by a very talented friend but I really object to having to contemplate paying for someone to do something which i know is a piece of piss but is beyond me at this point in time...

shnagumfragumdagum....

[Mark Norville]

I`ll be my blunt and usual self but hopefully helpful

Depending upon your age and your ability to learn Tom, if you have just come onto a computer, had no knowledge apart from opening emails or what you have seen in a week by week computer guide by orbis. In some respects your screwed.

I`m 33, been using computers since I was 11, I can do basic HTML which I taught myself, I taught myself via what someone else has mentioned Lea I think it was by right clicking on the website, copying code and then trying to understand that code.

So literally, view source, paste that into HTML editor, and look, I used to steal, cheat and alter like no ones business, and in some ways I still do if I come across something that I like.

I`ve only just got into PHP and I`ll put hand on heart, I can't do it, I`ve had a look at different bits and bobs of code, and I think oh crap, if I had the time to sit down and go through guides and stuff, then I might, at a slim chance be able to pick up more of the basics of it.

Personally I dont think I will ever 100% learn PHP, I`m editing some PHP files which is pretty easy, as it`s just colors or table lengths etc, but to actually sit down and write something from scratch and get it working. Nah I haven`t got a hope.

Even some PHP scripts I haven`t managed to get working, it's only when I had a day off to have a play, that I managed to get one script working, I tried another, got that working, I tried another, couldn`t get that working. So I settled with what I hoped was the best.

If you really want to learn and have some money, then your local college and night school is the best place, unless you do have a basic knowledge and a grasp of learning.

Books, CDs etc can only teach to it's limit, simply because it's flat, and things are taught via people who know what they are talking about, sometimes they think they are explaining something easily, but without emotion, and without you being able to question a CD because you dont understand something, sometimes you can just give up.

Best thing about learning, especially if you are teaching yourself, is when you make something happen, e.g you make bart simpson drop his shorts on a webpage, learn to change a spark plug or learn how to change chords on a guitar.

Dont give up, but dont do too much either, an hours practise of something is better than 12 hours practise.

Remember what your goals are, and hopefully it`s too make money, even if something is basic, it's better than nothing at all. Then when you have time to dedicate more to learning, then start learning what you need to do.

For myeslf, PHP, CSV, XML, Mysql what the hell are those about? I hope I`ll learn more when I get the chance, I have tried to get CSV to display on screen, but someones mention pharsing, this that and the other, and I think, ah that easy then lol

Just dont give up, but dont fry your brain either by frustration.

===
Hopefully most grammar mistakes are corrected

[tshirtsuntan]

I use dreamweaver for everything. I occasionally use the top half of DW for simple stuff but thats about it.

Does anyone know the pros and cons of Dreamweaver VS. Notepad?

I hate staring at blank space. Its just gives me an excuse not to work but I'd like to know if I'm missing out on some of the advantages of having a hand coded page.

[Shane]

Does anyone know the pros and cons of Dreamweaver VS. Notepad?

yeah dreamweaver looks much prettier and people go "ohhh right when you say it" and either glaze over or bow in worship...

notepad is free.. is erm blank and everyone has it.. lol

I love DW but still have loads to learn after about 3 years on it as I do just what I need and never have time to experiment

[rogerlittin]

If you just want a good text editor try editpad from http://www.just-great-software.com (and they run an affi program)

They do a free version which is a great replacement for notepad or a paid version that does syntax colouring, Regex searchs and a lot more.

There is a way to compleatly replace notepad with another editor http://www.notepad-replacements.com has instructions.

[drivetowin]

I started off designing a page in Dreamweaver - when I look at it now I can't believe how bad it is but it's a site that's still up on the web and still pulling in a few visitors even though I haven't updated it for at least two years now.

Now using the latest DW MX 2004 and it's good - even if you do need a fairly hefty pc to run it on (or maybe it's just that I always seem to have about a dozen programmes running on my pc simultaneously - dw, ie, netscape, opera, outlook, access, excel and aceftp, plus various odds and sods from time to time.

Tend to use dw in split screen mode, and enter things into either the visual bit or the code bit as appropriate.

Learnt it all myself by trial and error - got really excited when I created my first ever page in Notepad and got Hello World! to display on the screen within ie!

I guess like most people, most of the clever stuff I've got by downloading, begging or borrowing clever scripts off the net (though I did buy the js I use for our menus now - like it as it all degrades nicely if the user has js turned off - ok it doesn't look as nice but they can still use the menu). - must admit that I've got a cgi script I downloaded from somewhere for processing 'contact me' forms which I still don't understand how it works even though I've used it for at least two years now - I just stick it on each site, change one parameter and away we go