Hey, I have stopped web hosting as it doesn't peak me of much interest anymore, well more of all the problems and long nights it has caused, so I've decided to get into programming (php+mysql has my interest) and also web design, for the programmers, what suggestions, tips, websites I should go to, or anything you think would help me get off to a great start?

Thanks.

added to MSN, we can talk on there :)

also w3schools.com is a good place to start.

I suggest learning XHTML + CSS first if you want to get into web design. If you want to get into just programming, I think Scheme is a very good learning language. After XHTML/CSS you can either go into Javascript, PHP or ASP. If you're really daring, you may even try Ruby. ;) I found phpfreaks.com a good PHP source, and webmonkey.com was the website I learned a bunch of stuff from. :)

I think the most logical progession is to start with Basic or Visual Basic, then Javascript, then Java or C++, then I think you will be well rounded enough to begin learning PHP. Seeing as how you will have mastered these other languages you will be able to eat PHP alive. You will have developed good coding practices and you will have been exposed to a lot of different styles and methodologies. It will really give you a good feel for coding. I think the people who often just try to jump straight into php can be overwhelmed and frustrated, there is no point in doing that. Also, I have learned Scheme, I do not see why that is referred to as a "teaching language." I felt that the class I took in Scheme misguided people into thinking they were "better" at programming then they really are. Often I heard people make decisions in that class that they were going to be a programmer, but then the following semester when they learned programming that can actually accomplish real tasks then they quickly revoked their previous career decision.

W3schools is amazing, there is a wealth of information there. Also, I think you should learn xml and css. I'd recommend doing that anytime after you have a pretty decent understanding of html.

@billorly,

You have brought out some very good points and suggestions. However, I am curious as to why you have left PHP to the very last of his 'achievements'. PHP is a valuable resource on the internet and used by countless developers and large firms / corporations. It is a legitimate programming language that still has a very large ‘market share’ in this industry.

Are you suggesting that PHP is a necessity and it should be considered only after you have the fundamentals down? Or are you implying that PHP is a second rate programming language that should be considered only as an additional resource after you’ve ‘mastered’ the important things?

The reason I left PHP to the last of his "achievements" is because he said that was his goal.
so I've decided to get into programming (php+mysql has my interest) The reason I suggest that he learn other languages first is because they act as a stepping stone. It's like saying that you are going to hop to the top of the stairs in one jump. It is also known that Perl/PHP are considered to be very lax and very not strict on the way that you use them. When programmers start out with such a lax language they often have a very difficult time conforming to strict programming languages. By no means is PHP a second-rate programming language, it is just very loose in the ways in which you can use it.

Thanks guys for the comments so far, more suggestions/comments/websites are welcome!

By the way, I am already pretty good at CSS, HTML and I'm good enough with PHP to integrate a script with a design.

If you expect to compete in the design market you'd better learn how to do it on paper before you touch a text editor otherwise your sites will be horrid, boxy affairs reminiscent of the w3's own bumbling efforts at presenting everything as though it were a technicolor spreadsheet. Programmers with no art training should stick to the backend.

I agree that learning PHP first will very likely encourage you to develop a lot of very bad habits as it lets you get away with murder. Stick to something with strict typing before you start looking at high level scripting languages if you want to avoid the common plagues so much commercial PHP software suffers from.

As soon as CSS3 comes out.... that should be a very nice tool for designers! :)

If you expect to compete in the design market you'd better learn how to do it on paper before you touch a text editor otherwise your sites will be horrid, boxy affairs reminiscent of the w3's own bumbling efforts at presenting everything as though it were a technicolor spreadsheet. Programmers with no art training should stick to the backend.

I agree that learning PHP first will very likely encourage you to develop a lot of very bad habits as it lets you get away with murder. Stick to something with strict typing before you start looking at high level scripting languages if you want to avoid the common plagues so much commercial PHP software suffers from.

Would you mind backing up what you said? Anyone?