PHP, a server-side scripting programming language, has managed a glorious journey since its inception in 1994. Little did the programmers knew, when Rasmus Lerdorf developed PHP, his creation would one day find a place as one of the top five programming languages. Now, managed by an elite group of programmers (known as the PHP Group), PHP has emerged from version 1.0 to 5.6 (version 6 has been abandoned, and 7.1 is about to be released this November).
In terms of “Top Programming Languages Used in Popular Websites,” PHP has a number of feathers in its cap, namely: Wikipedia, FaceBook, Yahoo, Tumblr, and WordPress. According to RedMonk research study, PHP is the 3rd most-used programming language in the world. It is also the most “beginner-friendly” programming language to learn, and one of the top ten languages to learn in 2016.
There are a number of erudite PHP programmers who have been continuously contributing to the development of PHP programming. Today we are going to discuss websites where you can find great resources for PHP.
SitePoint PHP
SitePoint is a renowned name in the programming world for bringing valuable resources to coders. Be it how-to guides, courses or books; it is a treasure for learning PHP. Each post is manually reviewed by the Editor before it goes live. The posts on the website range from novice to the expert level. You will find articles on various topics related to PHP. Programmers across the world post their experiences of PHP, which helps in enriching the programming culture. To read the blog articles, click here.
One of the masters at PHP.net, his blog provides insights on a variety of topics such as security, performance, and general application. His blog posts, even on complicated topics, start with basic and easy-to-understand briefs about the topic. One can learn a lot about PHP by following his blog. His ability to put his mind and knowledge into words makes his blog a must-read for PHP developers. Interested developers can read more about his work here.
He is a hero for many seasoned PHP programmers. Some call him ‘Icon of PHP community’ and some call him ‘living legend.’ It really varies from person to person what actually Cal Evans means to them. However, one undisputed fact about him is, he has inspired PHP programmers across the world for almost a decade. His efforts have always been towards helping ‘Nerds’ and for that he has dedicated a section on his blog for the nerd programmer.
KillerPHP is the place to be for an aspiring PHP developer. You will find hands-on guides and tutorials in the best possible way. You get useful and practical skills, and tactics that will help you to enhance your programming skills. KillerPHP is one of the very few sites that has published videos on PHP programming.
Nikita Popov, a computer science student from Technical University of Berlin – Germany, has been involved in the development of PHP since version 5.5 to 7. Although his blog has not been updated since July 2015, the information provided by him is something one must not miss. His GitHub has PHP parsers, which are being used in statistical analysis tools. He speaks at PHP conferences across Europe.
A Pioneer of Zend Framework, he is the project lead at Zend Technologies Ltd. for the last 10 years. Being a highly-recognised programmer, he writes about complex PHP topics. His blogs are one of the highest rated for PHP programmers. People who are interested in in-depth knowledge should follow his blog; his creativity can help a novice and an expert at the same time. His latest articles can be found here.
PHPBuilder.com
Since 1999, PHPBuilder has been publishing valuable knowledge on PHP. From tips and tricks to architecture, database, functions and tools; this place is the best bet for anyone who wants information on everything PHP. However, do not expect much from its forum section. It is not as active as one should be. Nevertheless, a lot of featured PHP articles are available for you to read.
PHPDeveloper.Org
PHPDeveloper.org is the place to sharpen your PHP coding skills. Topics range from callbacks to policy evaluation, and security. You will find more about security in PHP programming, as the author of the blog is a security advocate for securing PHP. Some posts are just ‘discussions’ and some are ‘teaching’ types, with code snippets within. Visit, interact, and learn if you want to add an essence of security to your php programming. If you’re a PHP security enthusiast you must visit the blog to read popular posts by week.
Planet PHP stands justified to its name, i.e. Planet of PHP. You may not find its design fascinating as compared to other blogs discussed here, however, knowledge shared here is hardly matched. It is the first choice for programmers across the world to share news, guides, updates, and releases. It is simple and easy to understand, which makes it one of the most read PHP blog. It makes a compilation of the best available PHP blogs. To read more click here.
Conclusion
We have discussed a number of blogs and websites that are like “White papers” for a PHP programmer. Rich resources that you will find on these websites / blogs will help you keep yourself updated with PHP programming.
If you can’t wait and don’t have the patience to go through all aforementioned websites, then check videos on the PHP programming page of Livecoding.tv. The videos (twenty-nine thousand plus and counting), will help you to kickstart your journey of learning PHP programming. You can interact with programmers who you find suitable, depending upon the programmer’s level of expertise.
