Code(s) to learn?

[anksta]

I'm looking to widen my skillset a little bit for work, I think if I had a decent grasp of one or 2 languages used in web design I could really get a lot of mileage out of it.

I'm looking for a new job at the minute and my pay level isn't that great but from what I can tell from the ads and the recruiters I've been speaking to I could add a significant chunk to potential earnings, talking like up to £10k extra a year.

I'm not new to coding but am definitely no expert in any language, I've never got stuck with VB in Excel doing whatever I want (even if the code is a bit clunky and ugly) and I could build an exceptionally basic website in simple HTML.

I don't know too much more than that and I'd like to give the most basic overview of what I can do so anyone can advise me.

I was thinking either HTML5 or PHP or something like jquery mobile, what do people think? I'm going for web content management roles and a lot of these companies like to use little custom animations etc and be present across mobile platforms.

I know enough about coding to know that it's not going to be a case of reading about it on WikiP or doing an intro weekend in a Hilton lobby but if anyone has any recommendations about what to learn and how to go about it in my spare time I'd proper appreciate it.

Cheers.

 

[PaulB]

Certainly get up to speed with HTML5 & CSS.

After that, get to grips with Javascript (would recommend this before diving into jQuery). jQuery is a Javascript library so a good grounding is going to help here.

Then, start looking at something server side - PHP, ASP.NET etc.

Good luck

 

[Hyburnate]

Certainly get up to speed with HTML5 & CSS.

After that, get to grips with Javascript (would recommend this before diving into jQuery). jQuery is a Javascript library so a good grounding is going to help here.

Then, start looking at something server side - PHP, ASP.NET etc.

Good luck

This really.

 

[AHarvey]

I was always under the impression that HTML5 covered Html, CSS3 and Javascript?

 

[PaulB]

I was always under the impression that HTML5 covered Html, CSS3 and Javascript?

Nope, 3 separate technologies that work together

Some of the new features of HTML5 are based on CSS and Javascript, but you'll need to learn all 3 for best results.

Here are a couple of links to get started...

HTML5 & CSS 3
http://channel9.msdn.com/Series/HTML5-CSS3-Fundamentals-Development-for-Absolute-Beginners

Javascript
http://channel9.msdn.com/Series/Javascript-Fundamentals-Development-for-Absolute-Beginners

 

[AJK]

I'm looking to widen my skillset a little bit for work, I think if I had a decent grasp of one or 2 languages used in web design I could really get a lot of mileage out of it.

Web design or web development? For either you'll want familiarity with markup, styling and client-side scripting. That's HTML, CSS and JavaScript. If you want to get into server-side web development, pick a language you have access to the tools for - PHP is relatively easy to get started with, but there are plenty out there. If you background is in Microsoft tech you might be well set up for .NET, if you've used Java before you could stick to that, etc.

I'm looking for a new job at the minute and my pay level isn't that great but from what I can tell from the ads and the recruiters I've been speaking to I could add a significant chunk to potential earnings, talking like up to £10k extra a year.

Yeah, be wary about this. You won't just add £10k to your salary by knowing something about web design, or a programming language, unless the job you apply for specifically has those requirements - and then you'll want to have more than just a "decent grasp".

I was thinking either HTML5 or PHP or something like jquery mobile, what do people think? I'm going for web content management roles and a lot of these companies like to use little custom animations etc and be present across mobile platforms.

Anything in "content management" and you can probably forget much development at all, client- or server-side! That said, you'll be doing yourself a favour getting properly started with HTML, CSS and JS. Don't just focus on the latest HTML5/CSS3 trickery! Understand what you're doing from the basics and you'll be in a much better position to learn the extras and new stuff later on.

As to how to go about it, that depends just how basic your knowledge is now. If you really don't know anything about this, then you might want to start with something like the W3 HTML Tutorial and work from there. Once you've done that, or if you already know a little more, I personally think the best way to begin is to set yourself a little project to do (eg. make a homepage for yourself, based on a simple template you like the look of) and learn by doing. Your mileage may vary of course!

Have fun

I was always under the impression that HTML5 covered HTML, CSS3 and Javascript?

HTML5 refers to the fifth version of the HTML standard. But you're right; it's also used to refer to the trio of technologies that fully enable all the nice features available in HTML5, namely HTML, CSS and JS.

 

[Th3M8dH8tt3r]

Give these guys a look and sign up to them. It's only $25 a month and it's bar far the best I've ever come across. If you're new to the world of code, this will give you a jump start on more experienced developers who are stuck with old coding practices, people want responsive and cutting edge. In a month, you'll have a good grasp on how to make a site if you do in fact have the ability. Many many success stories from Team Treehouse, I'm one of them.

Here's the link: https://teamtreehouse.com

* no referrals *

 

[rsatd]

Gonna play devil's advocate and say in-depth html + css is pointless with modern frameworks.

I am a back end only php webmonkey and I have no idea about any html/css (in the sense I know enough to figure out what elements I need to use where), but in my experience you need to learn how to use a framework. We make use of a in-house Zend based one, so all I do is write pure php which rarely includes some html.

If you want a table, you simply pass your model to scaffold and any scaffolding engine worth a damn would generate you a table, list, drop down and insert validation both on the back end and front end. We have a proper designer who does layout/style. We just pass data to be displayed.

So from my point of view it depends if you want to do a bit of both, front/back ends or if you want to simply do back end, then just go for either php, .net or whatever else is popular. Sure it helps, but I am finding my basic knowledge of html and css is enough for what I do and what would be better is if I get some hardcore JS experience for debugging mainly.

 

[GravyMonster]

^ It's always best to know how to build the foundations of a house, as well as the house itself.

I see no end of people who know jQuery, but not a clue about the internals of javascript and as such write terrible code with little thought as to how it could be optimised.

 

[AJK]

It's always best to know how to build the foundations of a house, as well as the house itself.

Absolutely.

If you want a career in "implementing jQuery plugins" or "dragging and dropping" then by all means, stick to a framework and remain blissfully unaware of what code it's generating, or what the generated code actually does, why it's good or bad, and so many other things. But I think you'll find that career path a little limited!

 

[zyfar]

As others have said get up to speed with HTML, CSS and Javascript/jQuery. Then once you are familiar with that go forth with learning a server side language such as .net, php, ruby. At the end of the day it's all good.

 

[cheerfulplum]

I'm a web developer at the moment working for a software company on the company website, I do front-end, back-end, design work, database stuff all sorts really.
I'm doing it all, currently working with PHP5, MySQL, HTML, CSS, javascript, jQuery. I knew basic html and css before starting but nothing of PHP and javascript.

I think it's best to get to know all the bits and see how they integrate with eachother

 

[LazyManc]

Gonna play devil's advocate and say in-depth html + css is pointless with modern frameworks.

I am a back end only php webmonkey and I have no idea about any html/css (in the sense I know enough to figure out what elements I need to use where), but in my experience you need to learn how to use a framework. We make use of a in-house Zend based one, so all I do is write pure php which rarely includes some html.

If you want a table, you simply pass your model to scaffold and any scaffolding engine worth a damn would generate you a table, list, drop down and insert validation both on the back end and front end. We have a proper designer who does layout/style. We just pass data to be displayed.

So from my point of view it depends if you want to do a bit of both, front/back ends or if you want to simply do back end, then just go for either php, .net or whatever else is popular. Sure it helps, but I am finding my basic knowledge of html and css is enough for what I do and what would be better is if I get some hardcore JS experience for debugging mainly.

By all means leave the heavy-duty frontend work to full-time frontend devs, but if you're involved in coding actual websites (as opposed to APIs, embedded stuff, etc) then you really should have a thorough understanding of HTML at the very least IMO, it's just basic foundational knowledge.