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74 lines
3.5 KiB
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How to start becoming a web developer
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:date: 2012-09-07T18:12:12Z
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:category: blog
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:tags: development,technology
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:url: blog/2012/9/7/how-to-start-becoming-a-web-developer.html
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:save_as: blog/2012/9/7/how-to-start-becoming-a-web-developer.html
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:status: published
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:author: Gergely Polonkai
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A friend of mine asked me today how to become a web developer. It took me a while, but I made up
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a checklist. It’s short, but it’s enough for the first steps.
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First of all, learn English
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===========================
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Well, if you read this, maybe this was a bad first point…
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Choose a language and stick to it!
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==================================
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For the UN\*X/Linux line, there is PHP. It’s free, easy to learn, and has many free tools and
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documentations available. It can be used in a functional or an object-oriented way.
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C# is another good way to start, but for the Windows line. It’s fully object oriented, and the
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web is full of tutorials, how-tos and other resources.
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Learn the basics of the system you are working on
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=================================================
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To become a good developer, learn at least the basics of the system you are working on. Basic
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commands can always come in handy. Debugging (yes, you will do tons of bugs for sure) can become
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much easier if you know the huge set of tools provided by your OS. You should also try to develop
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in the chosen environment. Chose PHP? Get a Linux desktop! ASP.NET? Get a Windows. Everything
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will be much easier!
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Learn the basics of the web server you are using
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================================================
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PHP can run on `Apache <http://httpd.apache.org/>`_ (as a module), or any CGI-capable webserver,
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like `lighttpd <http://www.lighttpd.net/>`_ or `nginx <http://nginx.org/>`_ (well, it can also run
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on IIS, but trust me: you don’t want that). ASP.NET is designed for IIS, and although some
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scripts can be run under a mono-capable server, it should still stay there.
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Whichever you choose, learn the basics! How to start and stop the service,
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basic configuration methods, modules/extensions, and so on. It’s more than sure
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that you will face some issues while developing, so it can never hurt.
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Keep your versions under control
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================================
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Version control is critical nowadays. It gives you a basic backup solution, can come in handy
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with debugging, and if you ever want to work in a team, you will badly need it.
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Subversion is a bit out of date now, and it’s kind of hard to set up.
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Git is no easy. You will have to learn a lot of stuff, but basicly it’s just another version
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control system. Just choose if you want to stick to merge-then-commit or rebase-then-commit, get
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a client, and get on the run.
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Microsoft’s Team Foundation is another good way if you are working in a team. It provides several
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other features besides version controlling, and is well integrated into Visual Studio, which is
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highly recommended for Windows based development.
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Choose an environment to work in
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================================
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There are so many good tools out there. You should choose according to the language and OS on
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what you are working on. `Zend Studio <http://www.zend.com/en/products/studio>`_ or `Netbeans
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<https://netbeans.org/>`_ are both good tools for PHP development, while `Visual Studio
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<http://www.visualstudio.com/>`_ is a best buy for Windows development. Both of these have many
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ups and downs, but once you get in touch with their deeper parts, you will like them.
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