Web developer question?

Question

Hey I am fairly new web developer and after months of practicing htlm and css, I feel that I am ready for the next step which for me is learning another language, my problem is I don't know where to start.

So my question is.. If I decide to learn php as my server side language, javascript as my client side language and mysql as my sql are these the only ones I need to use to become a profesional web developer and if so in what order should I learn each one of them? If not then what other languages
other then html,css,php and javascript do I need to learn to get things done.

I know it takes a lot of time to learn these languages but I am not doing web design as a hobby, but actually planning to use it as a profesion. One last thing is.. what degrees do these web developers(not designers) have? computer science degree or what?

Ps: if anyone from the domincan republic is answering this question I would like to know if they offer this major here and if so where and what is it called. I seemed to have looked at a lot of colleges but nothing seems to have what I offer, maybe I am looking in the wrong spot.

Last but not least thank you for your information in advanced, and don't be afraid to be elaborate on your responce, I don't mind :) (fingers crossed for that dominican republic thing :) )

Answer 1

I with Dale on this.



I learned PHP, MySQL, and Javascript. It really sounds on the route you wan't to go, from your question it seems like this is exactly what you want.



NOTE: Web developers, Web masters and similar fields are not individually taught in college per say. You'll need to go to school for a computer programming degree (Which I'm doing) which 50% or more of it is actually HTML, PHP, Javascript, and MySQL classes. The other 50% you'll do for that degree would be CSS, AJAX, XML as electives and C+ and some more advance database/ programming classes.



Now I would HIGHLY recommend taking PHP as soon as possible, its really good to get that under your belt before MySQL because in a web environment their meant to be used together. Can't use MySQL (Databases) in a website unless you know PHP. To get a leg up on start trying out PHP tutorials from http://www.phpacademy.org/ (I pretty much taught my self everything the PHP class taught me by watching those FREE videos)



Javascript is amazing!!! Javascript will open the world of dynamic websites to you. Learn it and keep learning it ASAP! Javascript and PHP together will allow you to use things like AJAX and XML and then you've really hit the jackpot in dynamic websites.



- Hope this info helps you out, happy coding! Oh and check out this site http://www.apachefriends.org/ XAMPP is a free all in one testing server and MySQL database. You'll need it to test PHP locally (localhost).

Answer 2

PHP and mySQL should be learnt side by side, if you ask me. Their functionality is so interlinked in web development that they're of limited use on their own. PHP only really gets interesting when you're interacting with a database. :)



Javascript is one you could learn on its own, but personally, I've never had a fondness for it. It can be hard to debug, and I wouldn't recommend it to someone just starting out in programming.



So I'd start with PHP/mySQL. Once you get the logic down, everything else is syntax. Learn one language and you can learn any language.



Incidentally... when it comes to web design, your degree is a lot less important than your portfolio. Employers are more interested in the skills you can demonstrate than in a piece of paper that says you know this stuff. I've been a professional developer for about 5 years now... my degree is in geology. LOL!

Answer 3

PHP is a good language to learn because it is designed specifically for server-side programming, which means that its library is specialized for the tasks you'll be doing over and over again in the course of programming your website. PHP also has the advantage of being able to interweave code with HTML.



Your list of languages is already a good one. And you might also want to add ColdFusion which is a scripting language based on standard HTML. This is very helpful when it comes to writing dynamic Web sites. This allows you create dynamic pages quickly and easily, including querying data from a database, use hundreds of built in tags and functions, or creating full scale object oriented enterprise level applications.



Computer Science is a good choice and if you enroll in this, a four year course would be able to teach you all these major languages in-depth. But if you are planning on a much shorter course, you have to with the syllabus that the college or university that you are attending makes available to know exactly what subjects you'll be taking along the way.



Hope this helps.

:)

Answer 4

I learnt PHP and SQL at the same time, in little chunks. More recently (5 years ish) I have discovered javascript.



PHP allows you to create dynamic web pages with content from a database so SQL (MySQL) compliments it perfectly.



Javascript allows you to do some really nifty things on the client, especially with libraries like jQuery, you can call PHP pages via AJAX (which is basically a method of loading the page via javascript) and have the returned data placed into your web page on the fly! (it's the future)



I highly recommend http://www.w3schools.com , they have tutorials and information on everything web.



I personally have stuck with PHP though answering questions on here is making me want to learn JAVA it seems pretty good (though not for websites).



There is of course ASP / .NET which I have no desire to learn right now but I can say I do see frequent job opportunities for someone with knowledge of these.



As for qualifications I am a certified PHP 5 Developer and I hold an Advanced PHP Qualification, both earned through online examination via http://www.expertrating.com. I am currently studying the Zend Certification material with hopes to soon become a Zend Certified Engineer.

Answer 5

Im not sure what kind of degree web developers hold.



JS, PHP, and MySQL are all really good things to learn that will come in handy if you are going professional. You may want to consider ASP.NET or Java. Getting some experience with Flash is also sought after by many people who want a website done.



Sorry, not from DR :{

Answer 6

Depends on what kind of web developer you want to be.



Many sites for smaller businesses (and smaller) can get by with javascript, html, css, php, and mysql. Anything that is industrial strength/big business you will need to probably know ASP or Java.