Code similarities Pearl PHP etc??

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Im just starting section 1 part C of the CIW web Design Managers Course. I have to say I am really enjoying the course so far and seem to be gainning alot of the knowledge I wanted. I know alot of people suggest that a course to teach webdesign is pointless to pay out for as alot of the information can be found for free on the net but I have to say I dont think I have the disciplin or time to sit down and find all this free info and work through it all. so for me the structured course from the CIW is working out well (so far!) only down side is having to work through stuff I already know or is really basic but it still has been good as a way of confirming what I had picked up here and there is valid and correct.

Sorry back to the point!!

As part of the course there is a section on pearl coding and Javascript. I have no experiance with these languages and am keen to learn them but it seems to me that alot of the current sites use PHP. I was wondering there are similarites to perl or javascript with PHP? this would mean I can learn Pearl and Javascript but have a better grounding to pick up PHP from somwhere like killerphp.com and it would be easier having already learnt another coding language?

any suggestions or advice welcome as always.

Many thanks.

 

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First - PHP borrowed a *lot* from Perl. But there *are* differences that may trip you up.

While PHP is used a lot in some areas - forums such as this are major users of the language - you will find other places where Perl is preferred. Or even Ruby or Python.

And don't forget that Javascript is different from PHP or Perl in that the code runs on the *client*, not the server (usually).

Harry.

 

What Harry said. Plus...

Yes, I think learning Perl (not Pearl - it stands for Practical Extraction and Reporting Language, and you'll have to spell it correctly when writing scripts) will help with learning php later. Understanding the logic, programme flow, loops etc in one will help with the other, even where there are differences in syntax. Learning Javascript will also help you with Actionscript for Flash later too (Not a Flash fan, but I think you need at least a basic familiarity with it if you're going into web design), but both Perl and Javascript are widely used and useful in their own right(s) too.

As someone who submitted the final assessment (unless they hit me with a revision supplement) for the Web Design Manager course yesterday (still got the exams to go) I have to say the Skillstrain course material for Perl and Javascript isn't brilliant. I found it best to supplement the course material with a basic book borrowed from the library on each language, and often googled specific parts as sometimes just a different wording or example clicks with you and it all falls into place. Good luck with it.

 

Or even Pathologically Eclectic Rubbish Lister.

Harry (the old ones are the best)

 

As an old one, I'd have to agree

 

Thanks for the responses. Apologies for the spelling!!! thats a bit of a clanger isn't it!!! didnt even realise id done that till you pointed it out.
I suspected Perl [!] and PHP were similar so though the CIW explinations might not be great I can (as you suggested Thecatsmother and I have been doing so far anyway) suppliment the course with resources from the net. I am keen to understand PHP as it seems to be used everywhere now and can create some nice inteactive features.

Good luck with the exam!! I'm soon to take the foundations exam and not quite sure how its going to work??
do they send me the exam and I send it back or do I have to go to a college somwhere?? who knows???

Thanks again.

 

Hi there the catsmother,

I did the Associates exam in January this year. I also had an 8 month absence from Foundations part way through for personal reasons, that makes me 2 1/2 years into this and only now, upto Javascript!. I know, terrible. I have found Javascript initially, difficult espcially grasping some of the syntax (currently on lesson 2). The overall jist i think I get. Did you find the languages a tad difficult as at the moment I feel I am alone with the struggling?. I'm also presumming you started the course around the same time I did in or around June 2006?.

I wondered also, having read siome of your previous threadfs, did you have some knowledge prior to the course at all as you seem quite adept. I know you've finished the course and thats probably why buit I thought I'd ask.

 

Hey there, Mikey. Maybe I'm just adept at sounding adept :hhhmmm

I did have some experience before starting the course, yes. I taught myself the basics of html when I first got interested in having a website as a showcase for my photography around 1998. Things have moved along a lot since then, of course, and I hadn't kept up with those changes so my skills were well outdated from a commercial point of view, and the course covered a lot of things which were new to me.

I think the hardest part of the course for me was the Server Administration part, as it's the area I where have least interest. With the languages, again, I had some previous experience in the 80s of programming in Basic and Pascal, so I had some familiarity with the ideas of program flow, loops, etc when it came to learning the Javascript and Perl. I wouldn't say I found them easy, but not hugely difficult. My best advice there is to google the particular section you are struggling with and read a few different tutorials on each relevant piece of syntax. Sometimes one explanation gels with you more than another and reading a few different versions/examples makes it just click suddenly.

The main thing is to stick at it, and remember you can always ask your tutor for help via the webmail system. Good luck.

 

I always read it as The Cat Smother, and get the most horrible images in my head.

 

*hides pillow and looks innocent*

 

Thanks for the reply Cats Mother. Something, finally has clicked after some perseverance and I'm underway now and it's going quite smoothly thus far. I do use internet resources also but investing in some books this month i think will be the key after reading some online reviews. I'm hoping to avoid misprints and typo's this way which in themselves can cause set backs. Yeah, Pascal is something I was chatting with someone about recently and they were explaining they'd attempted to learn that back in the day. They also mentioned the similarities and the way having experience with one helps with another, despite them being different.

As for Skillstrain, I don't believe I'm on my own with this opinion but they are clealy a waste of time. They answer e-mails but don't answer students questions. A good source of my information comes from experience and this chaps site: http://www.ciwcourse.co.uk/

Thanks for the advice.