What to learn next in PHP?

Question

Hello.

I have a pretty simple question:
What should I try to learn next with PHP?

I already know most of the basics, OOP, a few design patterns, how to work with a MVC structure, mutli-dimensional arrays, URL re-writing (.htaccess, etc.), and have worked with a few frameworks.

I have built a few sites as it is.
I am also working on creating my own OOP-Oriented framework, just for the fun of it...
(pls do not mention how I should not bother to try to "reinvent the wheel". Its just for fun...)

I know I plan on taking a look at PHP GTK soon, as well as looking at a few more design patterns.

Past that however, I am not sure what to learn.
I am sure there is still more out there, I just do not know what to try to learn next.

Of course, looking through the PHP website at functions I've never used, and going over the stuff I have (or feel like I have) already learned is all good, but I am still looking to learn more...

So, any advice or links would be greatly appreciated.

(btw, I am learning a few other languages, so no need to make a similar suggestion of doing so)

Thanks,
Curtis L.

Answer 1

PHP-GTK is a worthless language, I've already tried it. If you really want to mess with GTK, try Python or the likes, hell even the C series languages, if you want to get down to the nitty-gritty.



I'd suggest:

learning how to handle multiple streams rapidly (multiplexing) using stream_select()

try using cURL

creating your own stream wrappers

writing classes that implement the ArrayAccess interface (very fun to mess with)



If you use PHP 5.3 like me, try:

namespaces

the new ternary usage

late static bindings (have fun with that one, it's actually quite nice)



Just look up some of the features.



If you really want to have fun with a language that is quite close to PHP, try Perl, it's much more extensible.

Answer 2

You should learn Java. If you don't care about applications, learn it anyways, then you can move onto JavaServer Faces (jsf, the replacement of jsp) as well as enterprise Java, etc. You could also learn JavaScript. (note: these are very different). Feel free to email me if you would like to know where you can go to learn these.

Answer 3

If you're totally out of ideas, I'd recommend you to have a look around at the PHP manual (http://php.net/) and see if you find something new and interesting you want to learn. There's a lot of stuff there, so if you just look around for a while, you should find something interesting.

Answer 4

If you are working with php, then you should learn SQL so you can make dynamic calls to a database. If you have not already done so I suggest you start working with MySQL(free). Beyond that, user session and cryptology for site logins are a fun and challenging topic to work with.