If you want to become a web developer

[jpc]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXqs6X0lzKI

https://coggle.it/diagram/52e97f8c5...0d3bda59b77e5977c2c9bd40f3fd0b451bdcf8da4aa52

 

[Teffnology]

WOW is this cool! I kind of want to jumbo print this and hang it in my loft. Diagram of the Internet that my mom can kind of comprehend, very neat.

 

[computerhxr]

Ruby, DJango, etc... won't last because they are nerdy designer languages to make people feel special and sell books. I would recommend .NET, PHP, or Java.

.NET is more used in corporate dev (because there are license fees). PHP is used by small business. Lots of PHP jobs in big and small business and it's been around for a long time.

Trust me, languages come and go and some are forever. Javascript, PHP, SQL, etc... will be around so they are a good foundation for any web developer.

For databases, just learn SQL. Then if you have a specific problem, find the cache or database that solve it. Most of the time poor coding is the issue and not the database.

API's are used a lot, but there's not much to learn. Most of them have abstractions that are very easy to use with a reference document.

You only need to learn one JS framework. If you know Javascript then you aren't really learning much of anything honestly. There's a ton of them so just choose whatever is most popular or is required for the job. If you are a freelance developer, then get good at one and use it for everything.

Javascript (or some form of it) is used in a lot of other things... Photoshop, After Effects, etc... use them for advanced stuff. If you only learn one language, I would recommend Javascript.

Also, don't code by hand. Get a freggin' IDE. Anyone who is proud that they wrote something by hand is a moron.

Don't fall for the object oriented BS. Good coding is a mix of procedural and global definitions, as well as object definitions. Most programmers would disagree but they can't give a valid reason why objects are better. They have their purpose and you should learn to use them correctly.

They missed Photoshop on the design side. It's pretty much the standard for mockups and designs. If you create logos, use illustrator. Always save in .png, unless it is a photo or you have a valid reason to do otherwise.

Spritemapping, and DNS strategies will reduce load time. Bad database programming is usually why a website loads really slow or crashes. Usually well coded SQL is as fast as most of these other replacement databases. However, if you are writing something like a search engine or something complex, you might consider choosing something else.

If you are just starting out, just learn MySQL or MSSQL (basically the same).

Just my opinion but I chose PHP, MySQL, Javascript, HTML, and CSS about 15 years ago (or 20 years? I dunno) and they are still used everywhere. They are living languages so expect continued education for as long as you are a developer. Frameworks change but abstraction and organization is the purpose of them so just be aware of good coding practices and choose what makes the most sense to you.

I've had many programmers and developers try to convince me to change my mind, and then 5 years later they come back and try to convince me of something else. In the end, they just end up on the same page as me. It's easy to get caught up in the pop-culture and waste time learning shit that disappears after a while.

Oh yeah, all programmers smoke pot.

 

[scenefinale]

http://elm-lang.org/

 

[scenefinale]

Oh yeah, all programmers smoke pot.

No.

 

[Puffy]

Ruby, DJango, etc... won't last because they are nerdy designer languages to make people feel special and sell books. I would recommend .NET, PHP, or Java.

.NET is more used in corporate dev (because there are license fees). PHP is used by small business. Lots of PHP jobs in big and small business and it's been around for a long time.

Trust me, languages come and go and some are forever. Javascript, PHP, SQL, etc... will be around so they are a good foundation for any web developer.

For databases, just learn SQL. Then if you have a specific problem, find the cache or database that solve it. Most of the time poor coding is the issue and not the database.

API's are used a lot, but there's not much to learn. Most of them have abstractions that are very easy to use with a reference document.

You only need to learn one JS framework. If you know Javascript then you aren't really learning much of anything honestly. There's a ton of them so just choose whatever is most popular or is required for the job. If you are a freelance developer, then get good at one and use it for everything.

Javascript (or some form of it) is used in a lot of other things... Photoshop, After Effects, etc... use them for advanced stuff. If you only learn one language, I would recommend Javascript.

Also, don't code by hand. Get a freggin' IDE. Anyone who is proud that they wrote something by hand is a moron.

Don't fall for the object oriented BS. Good coding is a mix of procedural and global definitions, as well as object definitions. Most programmers would disagree but they can't give a valid reason why objects are better. They have their purpose and you should learn to use them correctly.

They missed Photoshop on the design side. It's pretty much the standard for mockups and designs. If you create logos, use illustrator. Always save in .png, unless it is a photo or you have a valid reason to do otherwise.

Spritemapping, and DNS strategies will reduce load time. Bad database programming is usually why a website loads really slow or crashes. Usually well coded SQL is as fast as most of these other replacement databases. However, if you are writing something like a search engine or something complex, you might consider choosing something else.

If you are just starting out, just learn MySQL or MSSQL (basically the same).

Just my opinion but I chose PHP, MySQL, Javascript, HTML, and CSS about 15 years ago (or 20 years? I dunno) and they are still used everywhere. They are living languages so expect continued education for as long as you are a developer. Frameworks change but abstraction and organization is the purpose of them so just be aware of good coding practices and choose what makes the most sense to you.

I've had many programmers and developers try to convince me to change my mind, and then 5 years later they come back and try to convince me of something else. In the end, they just end up on the same page as me. It's easy to get caught up in the pop-culture and waste time learning shit that disappears after a while.

Oh yeah, all programmers smoke pot.

What route would you recommend for someone interested to go into the design side? Guessing HTML, CSS & Javascript (& photoshop) is the best foundation, but would you need to learn much of the development side as well?

Figure I may as well ask to expand the thread. Started learning HTML a few days ago in case it turned out to be something I'd want to explore further.

 

[computerhxr]

What route would you recommend for someone interested to go into the design side? Guessing HTML, CSS & Javascript (& photoshop) is the best foundation, but would you need to learn much of the development side as well?

Figure I may as well ask to expand the thread. Started learning HTML a few days ago in case it turned out to be something I'd want to explore further.

There are many different aspects to design and programming.

Most design jobs use HTML and CSS.

jQuery is a designers Javascript.

HTML5 and CSS3 replaces many of the capabilities that scripting was required for in the past. However, a mix of the two is required in many designs. Stuff like dropdown menus and animations were not available in older versions of HTML and CSS.

The rule has always been degrade gracefully, but many designers refused to accept this. Now the rule is-- just update your friggen' browser.

HTML5, CSS3, and Javascript are used in mobile applications. So it's pretty versatile which is what Java (not script) continually fails to do.

There are alternatives to jQuery and they all use Javascript so it's more of a preference than anything else.

I would recommend starting with Bootstrap which is a design framework. Learning the HTML markup and CSS is a requirement but learning Bootstrap is a better approach to design.

Typically there are UI/UX designers which focus on the design. They usually start with Photoshop because it's faster to create mockups and designs. Many jobs skip this step for budgetary reasons.

I would recommend using something like Font Awesome. Just use icons everywhere instead of learning graphics design initially. They load fast and look great. You can compile your own font icon libraries using a variety of online tools.

Many times designers are separated into two groups. Ones do the design, and the others create the Javascript/jQuery part of the design. Once that is done, they pass it off to a programmer.

A programmer has to know HTML, but typically sucks at design. So it's ugly and very basic. If you use Bootstrap, it looks good even if you are a sucky designer.

Programmers are broken down into many groups as well. Front-end programmers use Javascript and back-end ones use PHP. Designers don't need to know SQL.

Programmers are in high demand and get paid more than designers. Designers and programmers have different skill levels and know specific problems so they become faster.

When you are a programmer, you want to use a framework as well. Ruby is like PHP + framework all in one. There are compiled languages and scripted ones. Some use Javascript for everything.

The best way to think about it is... A business needs to have it easy to manage or it will be expensive to maintain. A programmer needs to be quick, so build on what you know and create your own expansion by writing libraries that you can re-use. Businesses spend a lot of money creating systems, so they keep languages alive by having developers maintain them. PHP, SQL, HTML, CSS, Javascript will be around for a long time because it meets all of the requirements. When you add libraries and frameworks it makes the code easy for other developers who are familiar with the libraries and frameworks to take over. It's also well documented and you can copy-paste many code samples to accelerate development.

Most developers and designers are not very business savvy and don't understand business needs or marketing. If you learn basic design, marketing, and business needs then you will make much more than a really good designer or developer. If you can do design and programming then many times you lose because you are expected to do everything and they have too high of expectations. If you stick to a small range of skills and get good you are much better off.

People have this mentality that their 9 y/o kid can design and program, or they can outsource to India for low rates. Just ignore them and find better employers. They can get shafted by overseas workers or their nephews.

Also, WordPress is a good place to start. You can design and install plugins. Lots of businesses use WordPress and their are many jobs available. It's super easy and it doesn't require design or programming to get started. It's mostly just buying a design from themeforest, and installing plugins. Many times WordPress sites run like shit because people don't know what they are doing. Also, they are incredibly easy to hack. Businesses should be hiring professionals but they want to pinch pennies so they deserve to wallow in their own shit. Profit off of their ignorance.

Good luck!

No.

Sorry. Forgot humor is not allowed.