By tim042849 on

I have just installed drupal 6 on ubuntu 10.04 via the package manager.
I am a programmer with 20 years experience, 14 years web development.
I work primarily in linux environments. I have a dedicated server and full
access to other dedicated servers.

I do not *currently* use PHP, but am preparing to learn.
Given that info, I would welcome recommedations for a a quickstart tutorial.
Regardless of my experience, I prefer to start at the beginning. :0

thanks
tim

⋅ Categories: Drupal 6.x

Comments

mjohnq3’s picture

mjohnq3 commented

PHP for Absolute Beginners - Apress

Don't let the name fool you, it's 400+ pages loaded with info!

For Drupal: Using Drupal - O'Reilly

tim042849’s picture

tim042849 commented

Thanks, but I was looking for something online,
however recommended books would have been my second question.
cheers
tim

mjohnq3’s picture

mjohnq3 commented

w3schools (dot) com (http://www.w3schools.com/php/) has a pretty complete tutorial.

tim042849’s picture

tim042849 commented

Just ordered Using Drupal
good tip mjohnq3

mjohnq3’s picture

mjohnq3 commented

For Drupal development you might take a look at:

1) Learning Drupal 6 Module Development - Packt Publishing

2) Pro Drupal Development 2nd Ed. - Apress

Both have a few glitches with the code examples but it's not too hard to figure it out using the Errata and the downloadable code.

ytin’s picture

ytin commented

http://drupal.org/handbook

brian_c’s picture

brian_c commented

Here's a good one-pager explaining a lot of critical Drupal concepts: http://www.poplarware.com/articles/drupal_cheat_sheet

I would also spend some quality time reading through the entire "Overriding themable output" section: http://drupal.org/node/341628

The Devel module (especially debug output functions like dsm() to explore Drupal's many nested array/object structures) is a life saver.

And eventually, once you get a handle on the basics and how to fully customize your output, you'll want to master hooks for advanced custom functionality: http://api.drupal.org/api/group/hooks

tim042849’s picture

tim042849 commented

Thanks to brian_c and the rest for the tips.
That should get me started.
tim

vm’s picture

vm commented

google.com

ltwinner’s picture

ltwinner commented

Best advice is to get a book like 'Pro Drupal Development'. Seriously you will save yourself alot of hassle. The drupal docs are fine once you are used to drupal but for a newcomer they are tough going. I bought that book a year ago and I learned more in 2 days with it than I had in nearly a month with the online docs.

tim042849’s picture

tim042849 commented

Your recommendation is noted. Thank you. I did order Using Drupal and will probably
follow your recommendation. I like both. The nice thing about online docs is that I have immediate
access to them. Where I live in Alaska, it is a 100-mile round trip to a bookstore and
Amazon (my preference) takes a week or more.
cheers
tim

rcastera’s picture

rcastera commented

You should check out Pro Drupal Development (http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/1430209895).