That’s an ambitious title, isn’t it? Well, I hope my recent discovery can live up to it. A while ago I introduced you to #develop, an open source development environment for .NET.

Today I want to point you to Microsoft’s own free development and learning tools for those who want to delve into Windows and Web development. It’s called the Beginner Developer Learning Center. Here, you can download all the tools you need to start developing Windows and Web applications on your desktop, along with tutorials that walk you through the learning process. This is excellent because it gives you a well developed and professionally laid out guide to programming, using the very same tools you would use in a professional situation.

I definitely recommend that you check and make use of the Beginner Developer Learning Center as a resource to get you on your way to becoming a professional programmer, if this is your platform of choice.

I was recently looking for a tutorial on some basic javascript stuff, and while searching I found a website that has some great tutorials and articles on web programming and more stuff.

The website is http://webmonkey.com/,  check out the Programming section for some interesting reading.

Happy Coding!

My friend Bo recently pointed me in the direction of a cool great app, it’s “The Open Source Development Environment for .NET”, aka #develop, and what it does is allow you to create .NET applications in a free open-source environment. #develop (short for SharpDevelop) is a free IDE for C#, VB.NET and Boo projects on Microsoft’s .NET platform. It is open-source, and you can download both sourcecode and executables from the sharpdevelop website. For those of you who program in the .NET framework, this is definitely worth a look.

I haven’t made the move to .NET yet, so this might just be the impetus I need!!

Happy Coding!

I recently came across a website that has a bunch of free database tools. These are PHP scripts. I haven’t tried any of these tools so I can’t really vouch for them.

The website is http://scripts.ringsworld.com/database-tools/. If you have used any of the tools listed on this page, please leave a comment and let us know.

Happy coding!

If you are serious about learning PHP and MySQL, you need good resources. There are many online tutorials and websites, and I have listed some really useful resources in a previous post. If you are like me and prefer to not read off a screen, and instead like to use a book, there are many excellent books out there that range from novice to expert level. I have collected what I believe to be some of the best books to have and added them my Programmers Store, so that they are in one easy place for you to find. So go ahead and check it out.

You can also find some on your library bookshelf for free, which is always better… free is good. The one that I am using is Beginning PHP5, Apache, and MySQL Web Development (Programmer to Programmer), and I love it. It starts you from scratch, although it does help to have some HTML/CSS knowledge. The Appendix has instructions on installing Apache, PHP, and MySQL, which came in really handy for me.

So check out the store!!

I am still working on the starting stages of PHP, with real life and other obligations interfering frequently, so progress has been a tad slow. However, I have been spending a lot of time on different websites and forums learning, and getting motivated. In this post I will share some of these useful links and resources, and will be adding them as I go, so keep an eye on the Useful Links and Resources category. The ordering of these links is pretty random and does not reflect any kind of ranking.

So here goes:

• PHP Official website - This is the home of PHP, and your best source for information on bugs, updates, and PHP documentation. There is also an extensive faq, mailing lists, and a page of useful links. Definitely your best first stop for all things PHP.

• Digital Point Forums - Webmaster forums with a section for PHP. This is an excellent site to join and ask questions about any coding problems, and to learn about web design and webmaster issues in general. Excellent responses from members.

• Sitepoint Forums - Another excellent webmaster forum and great resource for anyone venturing into PHP. Very helpful place.

• HypertextFever Forums - This is a new forum that’s really cool and shows great promise for being a great resource. It has a lot more of a personal feel to it. While the bigger more established forums are awesome, sometimes when you’re a novice you need a smaller setting so that you don’t feel too intimidated… I know I do. Great quality responses, and the owner of the forum is a PHP/MySQL guru, and responds fast and extensively to all questions, so this is a great place for anyone who wants to learn and grow.

• Joe Watkins - PHP Programmer - This website is a bit more advanced but has useful PHP scripts and interesting tips and code. You can register and subscribe to the feed to get the latest posts.

There are numerous more and I will be adding them as I go, after I evaluate them. I may eventually build a link page to list them all. If you know any exceptional ones that should absolutely not be left out please feel free to leave a comment and I will add them to my growing list!

For now… happy coding!