Appendix B: Getting Support

One of the greatest benefits of the Open Source community is that people are eager to help you learn as much as you can, so that you can become an advocate as well. However, you probably should attempt to find answers to your questions before posing them to the community at large. Doing so includes reading available manuals and FAQs, searching through mailing list archives, and visiting PHP-related Web sites. Chances are very good that someone else has had the same question you have.

Web Sites

The Web sites listed below are only a sampling of the sites that are out there for PHP developers. The majority of these sites are maintained by people on their own time, so if you use any of their resources, try to give back to the community by helping others out with their questions, when you can, and contributing code snippets to code repositories, and so forth.

www.php.net

Start at the home of PHP. The on-line manual is here, as well as links to ISPs that offer access to PHP, the PHP FAQ, news articles, a calendar of PHP-related events, and much more!

www.thickbook.com

I created this Web site as a supplement for my books. You will find links to other Web sites, additional code samples and tutorials, code fixes for examples in this book, and the code used in this book (downloadable so you don't have to type).

www.zend.com

Zend Technologies, the folks behind the Zend engine of PHP, have created a portal site for PHP developers. This personalized site not only showcases how you can build a high-traffic, dynamic site using PHP, it provides pointers, resources, and lessons on how to maximize the potential of PHP in all your on-line applications. You can also learn about their product offerings, such as the Zend Optimizer.

Webmonkey (hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/)

The company that brings us Wired Magazine also brings us HotWired, which spawned Webmonkey, a developer's resource site with a section devoted to PHP. Don't limit yourself just to the PHP section of Webmonkey, because there's much information to be had in other sections as well.

WeberDev (www.weberdev.com)

A longtime favorite of PHP developers, this site contains development tricks and tips for many programming languages (just to be fair) as well as a content management system for everyone to add their own code snippets, tutorials, and more! Great weekly newsletter, and high traffic. Go contribute!

PHPBuilder (www.phpbuilder.com)

A very good tutorial site for intermediate and advanced PHP developers, containing weekly "How To" columns for real-world applications, such as "Building Dynamic Pages with Search Engines in Mind," "Generating Pronouncable Passwords," and tons more. Highly recommended!

DevShed (www.devshed.com)

Many user-submitted tutorials, news articles, interviews, and competitive analyses of server-side programming languages. Covers PHP as well as many other topics of interest to developers, such as servers and databases.

px.sklar.com

A bare-bones code repository, but who needs graphics when all you're looking for are code snippets? Borrowing from the "take a penny, leave a penny" mentality, grab a code snippet to start with, then add your own when you feel confident in sharing.