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What do I need to be a web developer?

mcse_696

I have no idea about programming. I just think to learn web development. What programming languages and other materials do I need to become a web developer?

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Comments

Pash

Well you don't need to learn Java for starters

You could start by learning bog standard html/xhtml/css.

Get yourself a good wysiwyg (what you see is what you get) editor like dreamweaver for example. You can then probably move on to Javascript/AJAX and then maybe php/.asp/ruby on rails. You might wan't to learn the basics of mysql as well, or some kind of database vendor.

PHP is my main recommendation to you, because it is open source and very easy to get good tutorials and resources for.

let us know how you get on.

mcse_696

Thanks a lot for Your advice. As I understood, I should start with html/xhtml/css, PHP and MYSQL as the first step. I would like to get the certifications as well. Is it possible or not? I saw CIW. Is it a part of web development or is it something else?

Pash

mcse_696 wrote:

Thanks a lot for Your advice. As I understood, I should start with html/xhtml/css, PHP and MYSQL as the first step. I would like to get the certifications as well. Is it possible or not? I saw CIW. Is it a part of web development or is it something else?

Can't comment on CIW sorry, I am sure there are a few people on these boards with it though, hopefully one will drop by.

Please bare in mind I am not strictly a developer, so my views aren't as experienced as some of the answers you can get out there. I am simply stating the above would be a good starting block,

Yes, you can't go wrong with PHP, it is a well structured web programming language with a wealth of resources out there. You can even do object orientated programming with it from v5 onwards, it sit's on apache nicely and I have used it with mysql for years.

dynamik

Good info from Pash. I do free-lance web design, and HTML, CSS, JS, PHP, and MySQL are what I primarily use. It would help to get familiar with Photoshop and Dreamweaver as well. I'm not sure what the reputation of CIW certs are with employers, but they're about all there is in terms of web design/development, unless you go the ASP .Net route. MS has some developer certs as well.

kriscamaro68

I work for a webhosting and design company as internal I.T. and I talk with our sec officer alot about what he hates most and its poor PHP code. My suggestion is when learning php learn how to write the code with security in mind. Dont leave loopholes in the code where a potential hacker can come in and inject something or exploit your code. PHP is a strong language with lots of abilities but at the same time its easy to break if you poorly write it.

dynamik

Addslashes() is your friend

astorrs

dynamik wrote:

Addslashes() is your friend

I don't see how that helps against SQL injection etc.

Personally I'll always love cXross Site Scripting bugs - my favorite was the CIA.gov one that stayed working for months even after it got a write up in Wired... http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/04/cia-copies-thre.html

dynamik

Really? Looks like it'll prevent most except this. It seems that it has been superseded by mysql_real_escape_string though. I haven't worked with this for years.

Slowhand

When I started looking at web-development, an instructor in the CIS department of my college gave me some advice: "Learn HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and then a server-side scripting language. After that, you're gonna need to learn some Photoshop to make it pretty and some SQL. . . (sigh) all the world loves a database."

For the most part, his advice has held true. Learning HTML/XHTML is a prerequisite, CSS should be next, then preferably a client-side language (almost always JavaScript). After that, picking up and working with something like PHP, ASP.NET, ColdFusion, or even CGI programming will help you create dynamic content. Mind you, these days you don't necessarily have to learn umpteen different programming languages to create a simple shopping cart, but it helps.

As for Flash, that's really up to you and how much time you want to spend being creative.

Databasing techologies are going to be vital. Play around with something like MySQL or MS SQL Server, and you definitely want to learn enough of the SQL language to do simple queries and modifications in your code. Another thing that I can't stress enough is to actually spend some time playing with your web server of choice. Chances are that you'll be deploying your websites to either IIS or Apache, so spend a little time learning how they work and how to manage them. You have no idea how important this is, even as a developer. One thing I can also recommend highly is getting familiar with the W3C site, I've found myself trolling it on more than one occasion as I was searching for an answer to a deeper question than I could find in my books.

Having working knowledge of a bitmap editor like Photoshop, GIMP, or Fireworks is handy. You don't want to get sucked into doing more graphic design than you can handle, but knowing how to change and edit images for your sites is essential.

There are lots of tools out there for creating websites, most notably things like DreamWeaver and more powerful tools like Visual Studio. Using these tools can be handy, help you organize and speed up your work, but don't rely on them as crutches in favor of learning the underlying technologies and code. Use them to extend your abilities, not supplant them.

Good luck with your work and your learning-path. You'll probably find yourself reading a lot of howtos and spending a good deal of time in the bookstore looking at books on each technology you're learning. Let us know how your journey goes.

Pash

PHP security is actually quiet a broad subject but it normally boils down to checking user input into your website:-

http://www.imneebu.com/2007/11/03/php-security-validate-user-input-part-i/

A good database of php security tutorials/blogs is available here:-

http://www.pixel2life.com/tutorials/php_coding/security/2/ and of course always reference the uses of embedded functions at php.net for the proper and recommended usage.

Enjoy.