One thing is true: it’s really easy to get started with PHP. My first real job was creating a system to log phone call metadata from a PBX. I was able to get a working version up quickly because 90% of it was in PHP. There’s a function for nearly everything, and if there isn’t, you’ll find sample code online quickly. I had the project done in a month with very little prior experience. However, because it was so easy, it was horrible. Procedural, PHP inline with HTML, calls directly to mysql library functions, really bad logic.

When I was brought on to develop on their flagship web application, my coding practices improved from exposure to a better codebase. The biggest improvement was when I started working with PHP code developed by a new coworker that I would later learn was heavily influenced by Java. I went from looking at objects as namespaces to a representation of something. I learned to separate logic from presentation. I started to think about code more logically. I was baffled at problems caused by PHP’s lax nature (such as when (0 == 'hey') is true). However, I had knowledgeable coworkers to explain these problems when the language wouldn’t.

The best thing about PHP is that it takes away the need to manage “stuff” and let’s you get started right away. For me, I was able to more quickly grasp object oriented programming because PHP was more forgiving. This later helped me embrace objects in JavaScript, understand polymorphism, and become a better web developer.

That’s also why it’s so awful. If it weren’t for my exposure to good PHP code influenced by proper programming practices, I would have remained a contributor to the vast amount of bad PHP code out there. The unfortunate problem is that most new developers who use PHP stay in that place, because their stuff works. For most jobs, that will suffice. It’s only when they move to other languages that the frustration begins.

Making PHP my first language made it harder to grasp pointers, strong types, and memory management in other languages. It initially made it more difficult to use OOP properly. However, if I didn’t make PHP my first language, I may have been so intimidated by the “stuff” that I may have given up.

Whatever you choose to learn as your first language, the key is to learn from great code. You will make mistakes and your language, framework, or mentor should be there to guide you. If you don’t, you’re only going to become frustrated and confused later.

Update: There’s a good discussion about this article on Hacker News.

^† My first languages were actually Applesoft BASIC followed by VB6, but nothing serious came out of my experimentations with them except for a brief stint working on ignitionServer.

Check out my photos of my first few days in CA, a weekend in SF ice skating and eating food, and a weekend at Camp Yahoo! 2008 playing Rock Band.

I didn’t realize until after the movers left that my Mac mini, which hosts my YUI addons, was packed up with everything else. Today I finally have a working internet connection in my apartment and my Mac mini is happily serving up my YUI addons Trac, SVN and downloads again!

Lee Abrams, chief innovation officer of WGN America’s parent company Tribune Broadcasting Company, stated the following craziness: “[the new brand would] look and sound… like nothing else out there.” [...]

The logo was designed in-house as we learn from this scary sentence in the MediaWeek link above: “In an earlier memo, Abrams said that he had sent WGN’s creative director ‘a few Pink Floyd albums’ after she had turned in some uninspired art/voiceovers.”

Yikes. The good news is that I couldn’t ignore it.

While interviewing with Yahoo!, I met a lot of awesome people and can’t want to start working with a few of them. I believe that it’ll be quite an experience for me personally and professionally. I’ll be working with a team that is making technology like SearchMonkey happen on a enormous scale spanning all of Yahoo!’s properties.

This means that I’ll be leaving SchoolCenter as a senior programmer in the next couple of weeks. I have spent over 4 years here and learned a tremendous amount from the very talented coworkers I’ve had. I will certainly miss all of them.

It also means that I’ll be relocating to the San Francisco Bay area next month. That’s going to be a lot of work: I have to change my car’s registration, get new insurance, get more furniture, schedule the move and find a new place out there. Nevertheless, it will definitely be worth the effort.

Expect to hear more during my transition, until then, yahoo!

I’ve setup a YUI Addons Trac to be the center for my future YUI development. If you’ve been interested in ScrollTabView, you can use Trac to keep tabs on my development and report problems. As I come up with new stuff, I’ll point my current YUI page over there.

I don’t anticipate developing at a rapid pace; however, subscribing to Trac’s feeds can let you know when I’m making progress!

My inspiration was Panic’s Coda site as well as a few others. Now it’s easy to create a similar effect on your site using YUI.

Check out my new YUI addons page to grab the code and view more examples!

Update: I’ve been featured on the official YUI Blog!

Update 2 (May 27): I’ve been featured on Ajaxian!

It’s been a busy semester and I’ll enjoy the break from academics. Instead, I’ll be working on nifty stuff at work among other (awesome) things.

Both Y! Live and Stickam allow you to take part in sharing video as a visitor in a broadcaster’s channel, while justin.tv does not. However, I believe Y! Live’s experience is better than any of those competitors. The Y! Live developer API allows you to go beyond search like justin.tv– you can actually mashup video streams. (Stickam doesn’t even have an API.) The site is billed as a “experimental release” so it’ll be interesting to see how Y! Live will evolve. More on the launch is available on their blog.

I’ll be experimenting with the site by going live when I can, stop by and say hi!

Yahoo’s board believes that Microsoft’s is trying to take advantage of the recent weakness in the company’s share price to “steal” the company. The decision to reject the offer signals that Yahoo’s board is digging in its heels for what could be a long takeover battle. The company is unlikely to consider any offer below $40 per share, the person said.

Let’s hope Yahoo doesn’t get burned by a possible shareholder revolt. It’s a really interesting move for Yahoo and I’m anxious to see what happens.
[via DF]