[Webdev] Reading material for near newbie

[adam beecher]

> I was wondering if anyone could suggest some useful texts/sites where I could
> learn some of the theory behind current web practice and/or some *useful*
> langauges to learn.
>

http://www.php.net
http://www.devshed.com
http://www.wdvl.com
http://www.perl.com
http://www.htmlgoodies.com
http://www.mysql.com
http://www.phpbuilder.com
http://developer.netscape.com
http://msdn.microsoft.com
http://www.apache.org
http://www.python.org
http://www.zope.org
http://www.bignosebird.com
http://www.gossamer-threads.com
http://cgi.resourceindex.com
http://www.dansteinman.com/dynduo/
http://dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/WWW/
http://www.go.com/WebDir/Technology/Internet
http://www.modssl.org
http://www.openssl.org
http://www.redhat.com
http://www.zend.com
http://www.webmonkey.com

Ok, some of them are somewhat off-topic, but they all help. For instance, you
need to know about Apache to run a website. To run an SSL-enabled website, you
need mod_ssl (or equivalent). To run mod_ssl, you need OpenSSL. Most dedicated
servers - which you will invariably end up on - run on RedHat. You'll need easy
tutorials on Apache - BigNoseBird. You'll need to decide on a primary language -
PHP, Perl, Zope, Python, Perl, C, C++. If you want to learn Perl, the CGI
Resource Index is a nice way to learn by doing. Gossamer Threads has some
excellent scripts with the best online support resources. MySQL will help you
start with Structure Query Language. PHP will help you talk to MySQL. Dan
Steinman can teach you cross-browser DHTML. I could go on... There's enormous
quantities of resources out there, from basic to advanced, from online forums to
online mail archives. I can be more specific, but you'll need to too... :)

> I've recently been trying a little C++ and perl, and am currently
> ploughing my way thru java, mostly thru the O'Rielly books
> on the subjects(UCC library copies, so slightly outdated).
>
C and C++ are nice and fast, if somewhat complex (I can't do C or C++). Perl is
nice but slow as a CGI binary (mod_perl is available though). Java is Java, I
find I can't comment on it without geting flamed - it's always been a love/hate
thing. PHP is nice, simple and fast. And PHP 4 is faster. And PHP 4 with the
Optomizer is faster. But it's up to each person to decide for themselves, and
the only way you can do that is by trying them until you find something you find
comfortable with.

> I'd also be real interested in getting involved in the creation of a website
for this
> list as I learn best by doing.
>
Somebody said to me recently that I made a balls of the creation of this list.
Myself and another couple of lads suggested it, and I offered to host it, as did
others. It was pointed out to me shorty afterwards that if I wanted to host the
list, I should have just set it up and got on with it. The same goes for the
website - I'd like to set it up but I don't have the time to do it. If you want
to start work on the site, be like Nike - Just Do It. We'll help any way we can.

adam