Re:Things PHP is missing
on
PHP Cookbook
·
· Score: 1
Actually, I think more important than any of these things is namespaces for packages. Very frustrating to have libraries that are named the same but do two totally separate things. Every other 4GL and 5GL language has this (Perl even has it). Why can't PHP?
> It lets you mix html and code in. Sure, it's not the only language that lets you do it, but it's still a strength.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
This is what drives me batty about PHP as a culture - it takes a great programming language and condones poor if not outright wrong design decisions. The rest of the world is triving towards better design patterns that emphasize the separation of presentation and business logic, and yet PHP programmers still see this as a strength.
It's a RAD tool at best to be able to do this. If you are in a development environment where PHP and whatever display format you are using is mixed together like peas and carrots, your doubtlessly spend twice as much time fixing your code than you do writing it. In the development environment and real-world applications, templating systems and MVC design are integrally important in the modern web application environment. Look at Struts and ASP.Net for further evidence. The critic will say that evaluation expressions (e.g. ) are neccesary and make your life easier. try writing an application that supports internationalization or user interface customization in PHP using eval expressions, and then write it in ASP.Net or Jakarta Struts....the time and code you save is rediculous...
My approach to this has always been to provide a separate script that handles the logic required by a controller in an MVC methodology, but not to use include() or require(), but rather have it act alone, e.g.:
mysite.com/control/index.php
whereas in my apache config, the control script performs controller type logic (e.g. request parsing and handling, session initialization, parameter encapsulation, etc.) and then requires the PATH_INFO as the the model (e.g. an Action if you were using Struts). Use Smarty for your View tier, ad you have a complete MVC system.
http://wayback.sha-bang.com for a working implementation of this idea. Essentially, the result is that you should never have to call include('control.php'), but rather all the logic in control.php should be forced by the apache configuration and the controller logic.
Another thing I've implemented is that all of my "action" scripts have defined functions, e.g. a service() and init() function that are called by the controller script through a callback.
That's not entirely true. FAST's business is selling datab warehousing technology, and alltheweb.com is a technology showcase of sorts for the product. All in all - not a bad "alternative" to google though. Lightweight, relevant results, fairly large index.
Personally, I think alltheweb may have a beat on Google in the next year or so. Huge index based on their own search product, some bells and whistles to boot, and rather lightweight.
I was very much in the same position that this person is in now. I graduated from high school in 1998 and went to college mostly at the urging of my teachers, friends, and family. There is probably no doubt that in the long run going to college is the better choice. I can't disagree with the arguement that you can learn far more about the field you're interested in by picking up some books and teaching yourself. Where I went to college, I could have taught many of the courses (they actually want me to get my MSCIS there and come back and teach). Being in that situation, I found that I was often hindered by the lack of interest that my classmates showed in the subject matter, and that made it very discouraging and difficult to learn what there was to learn.
However, it's hard to sit here and say that as a programmer (in my case) or as a system administrator (of which i have one as a colleague who did not attend college) that you can live in a technology vacuum and simply learn what there is to know about your field, whether it be network architecture or client-server development. Wherever you work in the future you will be faced with decisions that call on skills greater than your ability to tie in a VPN to a load-balanced web server farm. A good understanding of business skills will be critical to your career in the long run if you ever want to pursue vertical movement within an organization.
You don't have to go to Harvard. A BS is a BS for most people in IT. If you can find a school where your wallet won't suffer and you'll have the time to work on improving your skillset on your own time - then I would say go for that option. You'll earn larger salaries and open the doors for many more opportunities down the road.
PS. Don't be afraid to use your skillset to convince employers to pay for part or all of you education, either!:)
Slashdot Mirror
Actually, I think more important than any of these things is namespaces for packages. Very frustrating to have libraries that are named the same but do two totally separate things. Every other 4GL and 5GL language has this (Perl even has it). Why can't PHP?
> It lets you mix html and code in. Sure, it's not the only language that lets you do it, but it's still a strength.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
This is what drives me batty about PHP as a culture - it takes a great programming language and condones poor if not outright wrong design decisions. The rest of the world is triving towards better design patterns that emphasize the separation of presentation and business logic, and yet PHP programmers still see this as a strength.
It's a RAD tool at best to be able to do this. If you are in a development environment where PHP and whatever display format you are using is mixed together like peas and carrots, your doubtlessly spend twice as much time fixing your code than you do writing it. In the development environment and real-world applications, templating systems and MVC design are integrally important in the modern web application environment. Look at Struts and ASP.Net for further evidence. The critic will say that evaluation expressions (e.g. ) are neccesary and make your life easier. try writing an application that supports internationalization or user interface customization in PHP using eval expressions, and then write it in ASP.Net or Jakarta Struts....the time and code you save is rediculous...
My approach to this has always been to provide a separate script that handles the logic required by a controller in an MVC methodology, but not to use include() or require(), but rather have it act alone, e.g.:
mysite.com/control/index.php
whereas in my apache config, the control script performs controller type logic (e.g. request parsing and handling, session initialization, parameter encapsulation, etc.) and then requires the PATH_INFO as the the model (e.g. an Action if you were using Struts). Use Smarty for your View tier, ad you have a complete MVC system.
http://wayback.sha-bang.com for a working implementation of this idea. Essentially, the result is that you should never have to call include('control.php'), but rather all the logic in control.php should be forced by the apache configuration and the controller logic.
Another thing I've implemented is that all of my "action" scripts have defined functions, e.g. a service() and init() function that are called by the controller script through a callback.
That's not entirely true. FAST's business is selling datab warehousing technology, and alltheweb.com is a technology showcase of sorts for the product. All in all - not a bad "alternative" to google though. Lightweight, relevant results, fairly large index.
Personally, I think alltheweb may have a beat on Google in the next year or so. Huge index based on their own search product, some bells and whistles to boot, and rather lightweight.
I was very much in the same position that this person is in now. I graduated from high school in 1998 and went to college mostly at the urging of my teachers, friends, and family. There is probably no doubt that in the long run going to college is the better choice. I can't disagree with the arguement that you can learn far more about the field you're interested in by picking up some books and teaching yourself. Where I went to college, I could have taught many of the courses (they actually want me to get my MSCIS there and come back and teach). Being in that situation, I found that I was often hindered by the lack of interest that my classmates showed in the subject matter, and that made it very discouraging and difficult to learn what there was to learn.
:)
However, it's hard to sit here and say that as a programmer (in my case) or as a system administrator (of which i have one as a colleague who did not attend college) that you can live in a technology vacuum and simply learn what there is to know about your field, whether it be network architecture or client-server development. Wherever you work in the future you will be faced with decisions that call on skills greater than your ability to tie in a VPN to a load-balanced web server farm. A good understanding of business skills will be critical to your career in the long run if you ever want to pursue vertical movement within an organization.
You don't have to go to Harvard. A BS is a BS for most people in IT. If you can find a school where your wallet won't suffer and you'll have the time to work on improving your skillset on your own time - then I would say go for that option. You'll earn larger salaries and open the doors for many more opportunities down the road.
PS. Don't be afraid to use your skillset to convince employers to pay for part or all of you education, either!