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you're rich, now what? | iigs: 1) Kick myself for not selling six months ago when valuations would have been stupidly higher (relatively speaking). :) I think this is the grown up version of "I'd wish for a million wishes!"2) If the money is larger than just being comfortably set, I'd split it into two pieces -- one being a charitable giving platform modelled after the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation ( http://www.gatesfoundation.org/grantseeker/Pages/foundation-... ).3) The other half into a fund for playing / investing / geeking. I think once you get to the point that you have enough money that you don't need to go into work any more the next horizon is to make other people successful like you (looking at YC, here)On the other hand, if it was enough less that this wasn't really doable, I'd at least structure the money in such a way that I couldn't blow it immediately. I understand that it's too common for lottery winners to become depressed and possibly even suicidal after mismanaging their money. It would be important to cover this before I started spending money on things that I would think I wanted (Porsche 911 turbo comes to mind immediately). |
you're rich, now what? | wschroter: It's true about those who are endlessly fueled by creating something - that doesn't change. You might not do it for money, but I'm not sure that really matters.I sold my first company in 1997 and am launching my 10th in January. It never gets old. |
Does your ACM chapter suck? | TransientMuse: My chapter at University of the Pacific doesn't even have a website right now. We have a forum that doesn't get used, and the club is filled with gamers that don't have very much motivation to do anything related to programming. I'm going to try to start an SICP project group next semester, but right now no one's trying to do anything educational or new. |
you're rich, now what? | gcheong: Travel, travel some more then plan my next vacation.
Try and qualify for an Olympic archery team. |
you're rich, now what? | ratsbane: I'd go back to school and study bioinformatics. I've seen too many friends and family suffer slow deaths from cancer, Parkinson's, and soforth and I think the solutions to those problems are only a matter of time. To be even a small part of that solution would be the most satisfying thing I can imagine. |
you're rich, now what? | asmosoinio: Do: snowboard and hike on awesome mountains, kiteboard on the nicest beaches, learn both sports really well, spend more time with family & friends
Not do: spend time indoors staring at a computer screen |
you're rich, now what? | jcapote: Besides 2 chicks? Start my own capital management firm |
you're rich, now what? | raleec: Let's quantify this, what number makes you rich? |
you're rich, now what? | jmtame: Do another startup. |
you're rich, now what? | bestes: Become an angel investor. Help startups grow. Share knowledge. Provide relief from those who don't know or understand how to really make a startup work. And, ideally, make more money. |
you're rich, now what? | Prrometheus: I'd be like the paypal guys and fund a lot of crazy/awesome/futuristic projects (The Seasteading Institute, Space X, Tesla Motors).Then I'd fly to the moon in a craft that costs less than $100 million and paint a big fat logo up there. |
Do RoR Developers Fall Within the 95/5% Rule? | Readmore: I'd like to think that I fall in the top 10% if not the top 5. Check out my page on working with rails and feel free to contact me if you're interested. http://www.workingwithrails.com/person/12559-brandon-pollet |
you're rich, now what? | dmoney: Not that we need another Office Space reference, but I would do nothing. For a while, I would drift and do nothing in beautiful and interesting places.When I'd done enough of nothing, I'd create and record some music. Rock, techno, maybe a hybid of both.Then I'd try and rediscover the joy of programming, now that I didn't have to do it for money.I don't think I have to be rich to do all of this (though that might get me nicer accommodations, better guitars, and more impressive equipment), but haven't yet figured out the details of how to do it from my own economic situation. Getting out of debt is probably a good starting point. |
you're rich, now what? | ivankirigin: "never have to work"?That doesn't mean anything to me. I want to build things. And some things I want to build cost lots of money.Robots, micronations, space elevators...I'd probably buy a good home theatre system, with giantrobotlasers |
you're rich, now what? | cdibona: If you have kids and a wife, hang out with them. You owe them, as likely as not. |
Sales Courses | JacobAldridge: Depending on where in the US, I'm happy to introduce you to my company over there. Shirlaws are whole-of- business coaches, so we may be able to craft a specific sales course for your guys as part of your business.Pros - Personalised, smaller group, easier to scheduleDrop me an email if you like. |
Do RoR Developers Fall Within the 95/5% Rule? | patio11: I'm by no means a top-flight Rails programmer (or programmer, for that matter), but be that as it may I am occasionally contacted for various types of consulting. (Frequently SEO or marketing because I'm sort of good at those.) I tell them that I'm busy. This is both true and not true. I am busy -- I run my own business, have a day job, and do occasionally like to have free time. But if you dangled a big enough check in front of my nose, I could be less busy in a hurry."Not available for hire" is a polite fiction that I tell people to avoid saying "I'm not available for hire at any price near what you are willing to pay". You can sort of tell, right?"Hey, I read your blog and saw that you were a Rails developer. Cool! How much would it cost for you to do a simple five-page website?" => "Oh, terribly sorry, I'm busy. (Forever.)""Hey, you seem to be pretty good at SEO? Could I hire you for some consulting work? How much could I get for $500?" => "Oh, terribly sorry, I'm busy."More broadly I think that contract programming gets progressively less attractive the better you get at being a businessman. Even if you command premium rates (and you darn well better command premium rates if you're that good), if you just buy your own time for a few weeks and then release the app that people were going to pay you to write, then you can scale your income past the number of hours you invest. Far past. Programmers are smart people, most of them are capable of doing this math. |
you're rich, now what? | petercooper: Move to the US. I wouldn't need to be super rich to do this - just have $300k or so in liquid "doesn't matter if I lose it" funds. Yes, the US's immigration rules are tricky ;-)But then? Pursue all of my crazy number of hobbies to excess. Attend Stanford or a similar institution (for the love of learning, not for a specific goal). Be able to let my wife find the job she wants rather than the one she needs. And so forth. |
Do RoR Developers Fall Within the 95/5% Rule? | xg: The nature of consulting (no ongoing support) means that most apps built by consultants are trivial. That doesn't mean they aren't talented programmers, but it also means that if you're looking for something that could legitimately be a 10k line Rails App you may want to think about whether it's appropriate to even be hiring a consultant.Also, a lot of people that are famous for "community work" are the last people you want to be working with in the trenches. |
you're rich, now what? | jamiequint: 6-12 months of adventure traveling, lots of reading, and spending time with people I don't get to see often enough. Buy a fast car and move to a little nicer place (with a bigger garage). Then start another company. |
you're rich, now what? | paraschopra: I would do 30 by 30 :)http://www.paraschopra.com/blog/personal/30-by-30.htm |
Launching? | markessien: Start with a "human interest" story, else you won't get covered. Focus on the nerds, expand from there. |
Launching? | nathanburke: Just submitted my post, 10 Tips On Attacking The Chicken and Egg Problem: New Users Won’t Sign Up Because No One Is There. If you have any specific questions, let me know. Happy to give feedback. |
Launching? | critke: Wouldn't it depend heavily on what your site is about? B2B or B2C? Is revenue ad or subscription driven? Is the site even supposed to make money? Or just build cred? Have you figured out your vertical? Going broad? (probably not a good idea IMHO) |
What is a reliable mail service to send emails from our site? | oldgregg: Discussed three days ago:http://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Anews.ycombinator.com+W... |
Launching? | nreece: Have a look at http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/startupswiki/Ask_YC_Archive for past coverage on this topic. |
Launching? | Fuca: Ranking in Google will bring customers, but and this is very ironic, people visit sites that already have.... people, if you can fake or achieve that the ball will just keep getting bigger. |
Launching? | peterlai: My experience consists of one sample point. WebNotes just launched an invite-only beta with decent success. Alex, our marketing guy wrote a great blog entry detailing the entire experience from preparation to payoff. http://blog.webnotes.net/post/2008/12/15/How-to-Launch-a-Sta.... Our biggest breaks came from having mashable and readwriteweb simultaneous write great reviews of our product. From there, we surfed traffic onto the front page of delicious and were picked up by several other personal blogs and websites. Good luck with implementing your launch! |
you're rich, now what? | JabavuAdams: Duty:
* Make sure that if I do nothing else, and barring a collapse of society, I don't have to work for anyone else again.
* Make sure my wife can stop working for others, too.
* Make sure my daughter can afford to go anywhere for higher-education. If she doesn't want to go to school, provide her the ability to try startup ideas.
* Make sure my parents and parents-in-law are looked after.
* Keep my relatives provisioned with computers, and buy my Dad copies of Mathematica and Matlab.
* If I have sufficient funds, make sure my relatives can study anything/anywhere they want, as long as their marks are sufficient.
* Prepare to leave some money to various causes.Fun:
* Actually spend the summer playing tennis, instead of in crunch mode.
* Take my parents to Wimbledon, the French Open, the US Open, and the Australian Open.
* Re-activate my Scuba licence, and spend some time diving.
* Go sky-diving
* Go on a "shooting range tour" where I fire all those guns you only see in games and movies, and to some kind of CQB training.
* Learn to fly a plane
* Learn to fly a helicopter
* Re-learn how to ski and spend more time doing that.
* Spend more time playing piano. Maybe learn the cello, the violin, or guitar.
* Spend some time in extremely remote locations, like the high-seas, in mountains, or underground.Non-Commercial Research:
* Read even more. Make sure I've read the classics.
* Spend a few years really learning Physics, at least up to EM with relativistic effects, QM, and GR.
* Learn cell and molecular biology fundamentals.
* Research Superconductivity.
* Research computer vision, motion control, learning, and memory.
* Research and implement a lifestyle that maximizes my own cognitive abilities, even if it's eccentric.
* Re-learn French and German. Learn Mandarin and Japanese.
* Research and implement programming languages.
* Research meta-programming.Make:
* Build a legged tele-operated or autonomous robot.
* Build a submarine
* Start or contribute to open-source projects in games, simulation, and education.
* Start a game studio.
* Become a competent illustrator
* Make an animated short.
* Make a smart sci-fi film
* Build a virtual CAVE.... you get the idea ... |
Launching? | mdolon: If your site is Stumble worthy, check out their advertising service @ http://www.stumbleupon.com/ads/. I've been using it for my flash games site with decent success so far and their rates seem pretty fair to me.Also, take a look at the following two posts in which petercooper makes some great suggestions:http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=341138http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=351709 |
you're rich, now what? | mdolon: Share the wealth! (cough) |
Vesting, equity, salaries, etc. | yeti: It really depends how critical the team are and how much they are giving up to join you. In my case, I agreed with my co-founder (engineering leader) to just do it as up front equity rather than vesting and we agreed 20% plus a nominal salary (before dilution in funding rounds). IMO Don't be too greedy and try to retain too much yourself, your founders will be key to your success or failure.And then for the others who joined after we did it as share options, up to 4%. A way to calculate is to use sweat equity.. what would they/you normally get working for a large company for that time against the valuation of the company you work out. |
you're rich, now what? | brianobush: spend more time with my kids: hiking, skiing, building robots, volunteering with school.
Then do it again, except this time I want to control the money AND the math. |
Launching? | brianlash: Throw the launch mindset to the wind.I think our preoccupation with a huge launch owes more to its sexiness than to its practical importance for a startup. You may catch lightning in a bottle with a launch that's met with a ton of fanfare. But you can also build an enduring success by focusing your time and energy on sale #1, then #2, and so on.Your odds are long one way or the next (and granted things change when you need to observe network effects to succeed) but it seems it's almost always the better shot to build fast, iterate faster, and lean into whatever success you find along the way. |
Launching? | drusenko: Here are my previous thoughts on the subject:http://david.weebly.com/1/post/2008/02/press-for-startups-10...
http://david.weebly.com/1/post/2008/02/the-importance-of-lau... |
Launching? | curiousgeorge: One piece of advice: make sure you keep your social elements concentrated if you want people to contribute/comment. Nothing kills a site like a big empty forum. |
Launching? | puzzle-out: We're a pre-commercial enterprise startup, with very limited marketing cash - so favoring open source - it could be the way to go given the b2b market's response to the downturn, with IT budgets focussed on cost-cutting rather than revenue maximisation. Then launch a superior product at the start of the upturn and start to charge. |
Launching? | whyleyc: One thing we did on launch to put some traffic through the system was to setup a small budget on Google Adwords and drive some targetted traffic to the site. This was very helpful in:(a) Working bugs out of the system(b) Giving us an idea about what features people would actually used (and how)(c) Allowing us to see what keywords converted best (useful in helping to drive future marketing) |
you're rich, now what? | DanielBMarkham: Find the hardest problem that intrigued me personally and start working to solve it. Hire some top-drawer help to have some great minds to bounce ideas around. Keep it simple and focus on bang-for-buck.Heck. I guess I'd do the same thing as now, except I'd have more resources to do it with. |
Launching? | ig1: At the moment I'm using a pre-launch signup page with most traffic driven by adwords. Only time will tell how well it works though, Mint famously managed to get 20,000+ signups this way but most sites will have less of a "wow I need this" factor than Mint.My current conversion rate (i.e. user signing up) is around 25% - I'm not sure if this is good/bad or even reflective of common conversion rates. |
Launching? | izak30: Here is the most general thoughts I have on the subject:If your site NEEDS users to get users, you need a soft launch where you do whatever you can to get users in and keep them, then you have a bigger launch where you can say "Look what we've done with only x users! This is going to be great!"If your site doesn't need users, then grow organically, 5 or 10 at a time, and work towards an exponential curve. |
Do you use Twine? | smoody: The big difference at this point in time, as best I can tell, is Twine's ability to auto-discover relevant content tags for you when you submit links -- tags I might not have entered or certainly that I wouldn't have taken the time to enter since I never enter more than four or five tags but it is not uncommon for twine to discover a dozen or more. Given that richer set of tags, it is more likely that it can do a better job finding related content and interesting linkages between content.I think Twine, as it exists now, is really an app to feed their internal engine with interesting data that they'll one day use to reveal their real application and it's not to difficult to imagine that such an application might involve a switch from passive data collection to active data discovery with intelligent summarization, but that's just my best guess. |
Proof of concept for my web site | ram1024: i like the idea of investor "bidding" but of course it seems like a hard task keeping everything honest.the whole concept seems burdened "legally" so to speak.would be neat to see something like this fly, though |
If you could hand-pick an Advisory Board for your startup... | yan: This is a purely fantasy question, right? In that case, off the top of my head: Peter Norvig, Fabrice Bellard, Bill Joy, Alan Kay, Chris Lattner (LLVM). These are just people who are my hacking idols and have a long history of actually getting extremely impressive stuff done. |
Resources for learning Java? | ObieJazz: http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/docs/api/This got me through my college Java courses. |
Resources for learning Java? | mechanical_fish: Years ago, I used Bruce Eckel's Thinking in Java:http://mindview.net/Books/TIJ4I liked it a lot at the time. No idea if that's the best thing out there now. I haven't seen the latest edition, as I haven't had to touch Java in several years. |
Resources for learning Java? | yan: If you already have experience programming (which you do) try the following: First read the wikipedia page on the language. Download a medium-sized open source project, start at main() and try to understand what it does. Then, google for features/syntax you don't understand; read comments; have the api docs open; google for languages gotchas; google for techniques you don't understand. Once you do this enough to be comfortable with the language (Shouldn't take more than a few days), try to write something on your own. Either recreate what you already wrote or try to create something just outside what you feel is within your means.I tend to learn languages a lot faster and in a much more thorough fashion when I approach it this way.edit: this has nothing to do with java per se, but I find it is valuable to me when trying to pick up a new language. |
multi-window SSH client alternative to putty? | yan: Try GNU Screen with the vsplit patch, through putty. It can split any which way and will hold that state across reconnects. |
multi-window SSH client alternative to putty? | coliveira: I also tried Poderosa. I used it for some time, but decided that I didn't need the multi-window feature as badly, so went back to putty. |
Resources for learning Java? | bretthoerner: I'm kinda doing the same thing but from Python. I really liked Java Precisely http://www.itu.dk/~sestoft/javaprecisely/It doesn't try to teach you programming, it just cuts to this "this is what this is in Java" ... high signal/noise. |
Resources for learning Java? | rw: Try searching any question like this with "X for Y programmers". Example:http://www.google.com/search?q=%22java+for+php%22+programmer...These results aren't as good as some, such as "Java for Lisp programmers". It's a useful heuristic, anyway. |
To-do list that lets you put a lot of detail in each task | Stasyan: Check this one out:
http://www.abstractspoon.com/tdl_resources.html |
Do you use Twine? | aj: I felt the same way. After using it for a few days, I just gave up. I am not sure what additional advantage it gives over either a link sharing site like HN or my bookmarking site like Delicious |
multi-window SSH client alternative to putty? | MikeW: PuTTY Connection Manager - http://puttycm.free.fr/ |
Has your handwriting suffered from years on the keyboard? | AndrewWarner: Writing on paper is like solving long division on paper--good to know, but not very useful in day to day life. I have no plans to preserve my handwriting. |
Has your handwriting suffered from years on the keyboard? | AndrewWarner: Also, I appreciate the gesture, but I hate getting paper mail. I check my mail every few months. When friends send me holiday cards, I often don't notice them till the holidays are over. |
How many lines of code do you deliver every day? | bompakiler007: www.netlog.com/fashiionstylezZ_ |
How many lines of code do you deliver every day? | bompakiler007: netlog |
How many lines of code do you deliver every day? | bompakiler007: netlog.com |
How many lines of code do you deliver every day? | bompakiler007: NETLOG |
Resources for learning Java? | critke: Start with Hello World and try stuff: http://www.javacoffeebreak.com/java101/java101.html |
Resources for learning Java? | hello_moto: One such ordering is as follow:1) Head First Java (Edition that covers Java 5)
2) Core Java (optional, latest edition)
3) The Java Programming Language 4th Ed _AND_ Effective Java 2nd EdThe last resources are somewhat related. Some of the stuffs in TJPL can make EJ clearer and vice versa. |
Resources for learning Java? | tjr: I've not done much Java for a while, but my most useful resources have been The Java Programming Language and The Java Developer's Almanac (especially the code samples, which I believe are available somewhere on java.sun.com).Effective Java is also a great read for becoming a "better" Java programmer, but may or may not be useful to you right off the bat. |
Resources for learning Java? | zupatol: I learned a lot from the java tutorialhttp://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/ |
Resources for learning Java? | brl: You might like dzone.com which is a link/news site for developers that has a huge bias in favor of news about Java. |
Resources for learning Java? | johnyzee: Sun's own Java Trails online tutorials are very good. They cover a lot of ground with minimal blabbering (unlike books whose authors are paid by page count).http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/ |
multi-window SSH client alternative to putty? | nailer: I use Poderosa daily. You have to modify your .inputrc to suit it, but asides from that it's stable and has a decent UI, unlike Putty.It's also significant more stable than Putty Connection Manager. |
To-do list that lets you put a lot of detail in each task | smoody: In the past, I was a big fan on omnioutliner (mac) for that purpose, but now I'm sold on TaskPaper (also mac). Check out the screencast to 'get it' http://www.hogbaysoftware.com/products/taskpaper |
Resources for learning Java? | comster: Just goto any US university teaching Comp Sci |
Resources for learning Java? | stuartk: Take a look at http://www.javapassion.com/Some nice tutorials on several aspects of Java. |
Resources for learning Java? | krisneuharth: Learning Java from Oreilly was a good start for me and continues to be a decent reference as time goes on. |
multi-window SSH client alternative to putty? | mrjbq7: SecureCRT is fantastic if you're stuck in a Windows environment.http://www.vandyke.com/products/securecrt/ |
Shared office space in Bay Area? | lsc: where in the bay area? I'm in the south bay, and might be interested in something similar. |
Shared office space in Bay Area? | zain: The library is a great place to try. Quiet, comfortable, and free :) |
Resources for learning Java? | flashgordon: On a different note why? no, really... apart from enterprise development why would you want the headache...(by the way, ive done java since 98 up until couple of years ago when i switched to python...) |
Multiple asset hosts with s3 = impossible? | CatDancer: I haven't looked into getting multiple asset hosts to work with S3 myself, but how much asset data do you have? Storing the same data in multiple buckets certainly sounds inelegant, but, on the other hand, storing 1MB in S3 only costs $0.00015 per month...! |
Shared office space in Bay Area? | aaroneous: Check out the Hat Factory in SF - http://hatfactory.net/. It's a neat spot that's near public transit, affordable and run by some cool startup-y people.Let me know if you want an intro to them (email is in my profile). |
best way to read ebooks on the computer | mixmax: I have a hp tc1100 tablet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP_Compaq_TC1100) that I use for reading. It has two distinct advantages:1) You can disconnect the keyboard so that it becomes easier to handle and more like a book, meaning that you can read in bed, in the sofa, etc.2) You can switch the screen orientation so that the reading area becomes more like a book (higher and narrower)Regarding finding my way back I usually just leave a PDF open till I'm done - the spurs me to finish it as well :-) |
best way to read ebooks on the computer | Zev: I had a kindle for about a week. (Long story short, Took it to class, it broke and Amazon wont replace it). During that week, it worked pretty well for reading things, no strain on my eyes.Now, i just use Preview on my mac. It saves where I'm at and it's UI does the job. |
best way to read ebooks on the computer | michaeleinstein: I thought I was a dork b/c I could not solve this problem. PDF's have a bookmark function, am I missing something? Anyway what I do is, close the pdf and then I right click the icon and I click "rename" and I had the page number into the name of the work. Nifty, eh? |
Proof of concept for my web site | owkaye: You haven't explained your proposed legal structure so it's hard to comment. How do you plan to structure it? Will the money each person contributes be a donation, or a loan, or an equity investment, or ??? |
What is your definition of Artificial Intelligence | psyklic: I agree with Minsky -- "anything computers can't do yet" ;-) |
you're rich, now what? | kingnothing: I'm chiming in a bit late here, but I would probably go to medical school. |
What is your definition of Artificial Intelligence | ram1024: bare essentials:uses memory to create hypothesis about situationsexperiments using hypothesisaugments memory with resultsloop |
Tutorials/Info on creating Hosted Web Apps? | davidw: You could buy the Rails book. |
Tutorials/Info on creating Hosted Web Apps? | swombat: "Agile Development with Ruby on Rails" will be a good starting point. |
you're rich, now what? | turtle7: I run to keep in shape. I would spend some of my extra time making sure I was training to my potential rather than just enough.I would build a small workshop and/or apprentice with someone to learn how to do some modest woodworking. It appeals to me as a nice hobby, but one which time and resources do not allow me to pursue at this point.I would practice guitar more often/seriously.I would read more often, and spend more time in quiet reflection.I would continue to develop applications, as I love many aspects of it.I would take a vacation per quarter rather than a vacation per year.Basically, commit more time to improving myself and my skills rather than committing more time towards improving my financial condition. |
How do I go about PHP? | kungfooey: I worked with Java for four years, slowly moving to PHP as version 4 came about. Why? Rising demand.As with any programming language, the best way to get started (in my opinion) is just to build something. A blog, a guestbook: something functional and useful. In the process you'll become familiar with the language fundamentals. I recommend that you at first build something using no framework (to get an idea of what sort of security measures you need to take, handling DB transactions, etc) and then followup with the framework of your choice.I used vim/Eclipse for Java, and still use the same for PHP. There is an Eclipse build specifically for PHP, called "Eclipse PDT." There are several others out there (Komodo, Zend Studio) but PDT is free and therefore easier to try out.I use CakePHP as a framework and find it to meet most of my needs. I have also tried symphony and the Zend framework, but neither of them were flexible enough for me. I have not tried CodeIgniter, but I have heard good things about it. There are some articles on IBM DeveloperWorks that are a good introduction to CakePHP. |
How do I go about PHP? | KrisJordan: Great question.For editors I highly recommend Eclipse DPT: http://www.eclipse.org/pdt/With a Java background I would think you'll feel right at home there.Framework wise stay tuned to (shameless plug) http://www.recessframework.org - it's a framework I've been working on that makes greater use of the OO facilities in PHP5, is RESTful, and has a straightforward ORM. Public preview release soon.CodeIgniter is written to run in either PHP4 or 5 which means it makes less interesting use of the PHP5 object model. If you're an OO nut I suggest staying in 5 and perhaps looking at Kohana. |
How do I go about PHP? | mechanical_fish: I didn't set out to learn PHP. I set out to learn Drupal and picked up PHP along the way.I think that's a pretty good way to go, actually. You want to learn PHP by tinkering with a bunch of (a) working code that (b) has been reviewed by a community of people, at least some of whom are (c) trying to exhibit some taste. The problem with the language is that various sectors of it are poorly thought out, or have been implemented several times, and the best way to avoid stumbling over them is to follow in the footsteps of some expert guides.Joining the userbase of one or another framework will probably give you much of the same effect.The language itself is not hard to learn at all, except for the bits that are maddeningly silly. Watch out for the array() and the way it handles keys. Find the handy online table that compares empty() and isset() and is_null() and helps you to figure out that, in many cases, none of them is the thing you really want. ;) Watch out for accidental typecasts and their effect on your logic. |
How do I go about PHP? | rsayers: When I was learning PHP (way back in version 3) I started by building a simple addressbook backed by mysql, I would also recommend as kungfooey did to start by building something and learn as you go.As far as editors go, I use emacs, but for about 5 years I used UltraEdit and was very pleased with it.I personally use a framework i wrote a while back, but if I were starting over I think codeignitor would be my pick |
How do I go about PHP? | tdonia: a) i haven't used any php related books, but this is invaluable:http://www.php.net/docs.phpi would suggest downloading a version of it for quick reference. it's worth learning the commonly used functions, but a big chunk of php's value (and the main criticism against it) is a namespace filled with goodies (with varying degrees of good). This means there is probably a lot of useful functionality that's used sporadically enough that it's not worth committing permanent headspace to. Rather, learn to be quick about finding the right function to use. It's usually worth checking to see if there's some strange function/module that does exactly what you're trying to do. and if there's not, you can usually find example code in the comments - though i wouldn't recommend copying that code into production. rather, use it as a starting point for exploring the problem at hand.i'd suggest learning php by giving yourself a well defined, if simple, project to start with and attacking it the same way you've learned languages in the past. probably with some reading, a lot of doing, occasional breaking, then more reading.b) notepad++ or homesite are my preferred IDE'sc) codeigniter, cakephp ( http://cakephp.org/ ) and the zend framework ( http://framework.zend.com/ ) are the big frameworks i'm aware of, but i'm sure there are more out there.enjoy! |
How do I go about PHP? | texec: a) With your background you should not have any problems to learn PHP. If you start, don't begin with a big complex system, like a blog or a forum. Try small scripts and learn about web secruity and PHP pitfalls. Then you are ready to begin something bigger.b) If have experiences with Java, try one of the PHP Plugins for Eclipse.c) CodeIgniter is mostly based on PHP 4. This results in same outdated patterns, especially regarding PHP 5.3. If you want real extensibility (and highly object orientated code) try the Zend Framework. If this is a bit too much, i recommend the Yii Framework, it's lightweight and brings lots of ideas from rails to PHP without copying the rails specific approach. |
How do I go about PHP? | nuclear_eclipse: As a long-time PHP veteran still in the practice:- Recommend Editor: "Eclipse PDT" [1] probably has the best tools relating to PHP development, although I just use Vim for all of my PHP work.- Bookmark the PHP online manual [2], and add their search plugin to Firefox, so you can look up standard library functions just by typing it into the search bar.- The Zend Framework [3], more of a great library than a traditional framework, is probably the best resource for any projects your may be starting from scratch, although CodeIgniter is definitely a top contender.Probably the best way to learn PHP itself is to read the (rather well-done) PHP manual, which includes everything from an introduction to the language, it's parsing and syntax trees, all the way up to how its object model works, and complete references for the entire function library, and all standard modules.Read some source code from the wild. I suggest Mediawiki and Drupal.Key points to make sure you understand:- Arrays are the archetypal datatype in PHP, and can be used as lists, dictionaries, or a mix of the two.- You can do just about anything just by using the standard function library. Frameworks are not necessary, contrary to popular belief.- Objects are a mishmash of arrays, structures, and standard C++/Java objects. You can add class variables, functions, and such at runtime.- You can do a lot of "fancy" meta-programming in PHP; you just have to know how to accomplish what you want. The PHP library helps out a lot with this.- Everything is a template. It may be a bit more verbose than compiled templating dialects, but PHP itself is a really handy templating system in it's own right, just using <?php and ?> tags.[1] http://www.eclipse.org/pdt/[2] http://www.php.net/manual/en/[3] http://framework.zend.com/ |
How do I go about PHP? | noodle: a) i recommend learning by doing. imo, start at the bottom and learn how to hand-code from scratch a single table CRUD app. then go through and clean it up. then build the same thing with a framework (i suggest CakePHP or CodeIgniter). then go through and clean it up. then build something more meaningful.b) a quality text editor will work just fine. when doing php stuffs, i use jedit, and have used eclipse and netbeans in the past.c) see a |
How do I go about PHP? | ars: Personally I would forget the framework - you don't need it. Any sufficiently advanced framework is indistinguishable from php.OK, maybe not exactly, but many of them suffer from second system syndrome where they try to re-implement everything php offers.Just use php directly. |
How do I go about PHP? | ErrantX: I recommend Kohana as a framework to work with (kohanaphp.com). It started as a branch of CI so is similar to that - but was totally rewritten with PHP5 support and lots of new stuff :)Worth a look.I always recommend Notepad++ plus a XAMPP installation over any form of IDE. It's simpler in the long run.As to learning: that is a hugely personal thing. I picked it up over 4 or 5 years (still learning even now though!). If you already have a good grouding in general programming you wont have a problem :)But with PHP learnign by doing is a good approach :) there are lots of snippet sites out there as well for you to peek through for ideas :D |
Extreme, but workable cost-cutting measures? | CatDancer: I'm a bit confused what you're asking for... are you, personally, in financial trouble, and looking for ways to save money? Or are you thinking of starting a business that would make money by helping people save money? |
How do I go about PHP? | dezwald: i've been developing in PHP for 6 years now....and i have tried many frameworks. the one i like the most in my opinion is CodeIgniter.CodeIgniter is very flexible and not as strict when it comes to implementing your own code and (libraries/classes/plugins). It's very simple, implements great separation (in regard of its MVC archt.) which makes it easy to understand and use.
The framework has great, easy to follow documentation with great forum support and a growing community.i say just watch one of their video tutorials of their website and you'll see how easy it is to get started on a project.As for an IDE editor:if you're using windows....i HIGHLY RECOMMEND PhpED (by nusphere)I have tested every possible editor out there and this one by far is the BEST. It's fully featured in every aspect, easily customized and runs fast!.they have definitely taken programmers needs and dumped it into this application.it's definitely worth a try at least.just checkout the features here.http://www.nusphere.com/products/phped.htm |
How do I go about PHP? | dezwald: but to point out the from the first comment left by kungfooeyyou're best way to start in any language is to develop a small app without a framework.....great advice by him/her. |
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