Which Version to Learn On

[Buck Turgidson]

I have SuSE linux 9.1, with:

apache2-mod_php4-4.3.4-26
apache2-2.0.49-23

Is this a good platform to start learning PHP, or should I upgrade to PHP 5?

I have Oracle installed. Can I use it, or should I install mysql? Does it
matter?

[Gary L. Burnore]

Re: Which Version to Learn On

On Mon, 29 Nov 2004 10:19:07 -0500, "Buck Turgidson"
<jc_va@hotmail. com> wrote:
[color=blue]
>I have SuSE linux 9.1, with:
>
>apache2-mod_php4-4.3.4-26
>apache2-2.0.49-23
>
>Is this a good platform to start learning PHP, or should I upgrade to PHP 5?[/color]

Always better to learn on the newest stable version.
[color=blue]
>I have Oracle installed. Can I use it,[/color]


Yes.
[color=blue]
> or should I install mysql?[/color]

Yes.
[color=blue]
>Does it matter?
>[/color]
Expanding your skillset matters. Learn both. Maybe a third.

--
gburnore@databa six dot com
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[Chris Hope]

Re: Which Version to Learn On

Gary L. Burnore wrote:
[color=blue]
> On Mon, 29 Nov 2004 10:19:07 -0500, "Buck Turgidson"
> <jc_va@hotmail. com> wrote:
>[color=green]
>>I have SuSE linux 9.1, with:
>>
>>apache2-mod_php4-4.3.4-26
>>apache2-2.0.49-23
>>
>>Is this a good platform to start learning PHP, or should I upgrade to
>>PHP 5?[/color]
>
> Always better to learn on the newest stable version.[/color]

PHP5 is the latest stable version but I personally would recommend to
learn with a version of 4.3.x because the majority of web hosts still
only host PHP4 sites, and there are some backward compatibility issues
between 5 and 4, so at this stage it's still easier to develop in 4.

--
Chris Hope - The Electric Toolbox - http://www.electrictoolbox.com/

[Chung Leong]

Re: Which Version to Learn On

"Gary L. Burnore" <gburnore@datab asix.com> wrote in message
news:coff8r$k1l $3@blackhelicop ter.databasix.c om...[color=blue]
> On Mon, 29 Nov 2004 10:19:07 -0500, "Buck Turgidson"
> <jc_va@hotmail. com> wrote:
>[color=green]
> >I have SuSE linux 9.1, with:
> >
> >apache2-mod_php4-4.3.4-26
> >apache2-2.0.49-23
> >
> >Is this a good platform to start learning PHP, or should I upgrade to PHP[/color][/color]
5?[color=blue]
>
> Always better to learn on the newest stable version.[/color]

Which is PHP 4.3. PHP 5 is far from stable.

[Michael Fesser]

Re: Which Version to Learn On

.oO(Buck Turgidson)
[color=blue]
>I have SuSE linux 9.1, with:
>
>apache2-mod_php4-4.3.4-26
>apache2-2.0.49-23
>
>Is this a good platform to start learning PHP, or should I upgrade to PHP 5?[/color]

Stay with PHP4 for a while (but consider an upgrade to a more recent
version, 4.3.9 is the latest, 4.3.10 is coming), it's considered stable
and recommended for production systems. PHP5 is still quite new (only a
few months old). While it's officially released for production servers,
I wouldn't use it yet.

Additionally the main differences between v4 and v5 concern the more
advanced features like OOP and exception handling - not really the stuff
for a beginner.

Of course you could install both to play around with the "new" PHP.
[color=blue]
>I have Oracle installed. Can I use it, or should I install mysql? Does it
>matter?[/color]

Oracle is a rather heavy weight db. As long as you don't want to store
millions of customer records along with billions of e-mails you should
consider using MySQL (4.1 was released recently, but I would stay with
4.0.x for a while) or PostgreSQL.

Micha