PHP Developers Move to 5.0

By Sarah Clark
sarah.clark@careertrainingdirectory.com
Career Training Directory Columnist

PHP programmers are on the cutting edge with 5.0. It’s got more bells and whistles than previous versions—here are a few of them.

What is PHP?

First, a quick introduction for those less familiar with the world of PHP programmers. Luke Welling and Laura Thomson define PHP in their book PHP and MySQL Web Development as “a server-side scripting language designed specifically for the Web.” PHP is most often used by web developers to create forms and features of e-commerce sites. It’s embedded in HTML to make websites more dynamic. A fairly new language, it was created in Rasmus Lerdorf in 1994.

PHP Programmers Upgrade to 5.0

Why are PHP programmers upgrading to the latest version of PHP? One major reason is that the new branch offers more object-oriented features. You’ll find features such as inheritance, abstract classes and methods, constructors, and deconstructors, among a variety of others.

Becoming a PHP Developer

For those that are interested in becoming PHP developers but don’t know the first thing about object-oriented programming, here’s how you can move toward a career using PHP.

First, you need to know a couple of programming languages. At a minimum, you should be familiar with HTML and PHP. Later, you might find Javascript and Java useful to know.

You can gain these skills by taking a class on web development. There you might learn how to create content-management systems, mailing list managers, and shopping carts.

During your studies, you’ll need to get some practical experience. Look for a part-time job or internship doing PHP programming. You can find them at all types of organizations. Scan online job postings and sites like Craigslist.com for opportunities.

After you’ve got some training and relevant experience, you’ll be ready to pursue a career as a PHP developer.

Source

www.php.com

About the Author

Sarah Clark is a freelance writer who specializes in career development.