Create a Social App in PHP

What You’ll Do

Project: Build a social application with like/dislike functionality.

What You’ll Learn

Did you know that PHP is the world’s most popular programming language for the web?

Facebook, Yahoo!, Flickr, Wikipedia, and Photobucket use it (just to name a few), so why not you?

In this class, you (yes, you!) will learn how to code in PHP from the ground up. Each of our sessions will focus on one aspect of the language, and will ultimately give you a complete understanding of how PHP works. You can then fearlessly unleash your PHP powers upon the internet with confidence!

By the end of our short and sweet time together, you will have created a web app that not only works, but looks pretty darn good as well. We'll accomplish this by applying the best practices of coding in PHP, coupled with a crash-course in some of my favorite front-end tricks.

The finished product (drum roll, please...): a functioning, beautiful, and secure web application. More specifically, a social application where users like or dislike photos submitted by other users. Popular photos make it to the top. Unpopular ones sink to the bottom.

In this class, we will be using the JetBrains PHPStorm IDE. PHPStorm comes with a free 30-day trial. Initial attendees of this class qualify for an extended license for PHPStorm. PHPStorm runs on both Windows and Mac.

For Mac users, it is highly recommended that you also grab a copy of CodeRunner from the App Store. If you're running WIndows or choose not to purchase CodeRunner there are also online code evaluation platforms such as ideone and CodePad.

Beginner Level

No prior programming experience is necessary, although a familiarity with web development technologies is assumed. Supplemental learning materials and links will be provided for anyone who needs to get caught up with HTML, CSS, and Javascript.

About Your Teacher See Full Bio

This class is being brought to you by Start It Up Delaware, Inc. (SIUD). SIUD aims to be the catalyst for creating a vibrant startup community in Delaware. Founded by individuals from all sides of entrepreneurship - education, private equity, coworking, to actual entrepreneurs, SIUD is being supported in part by a grant from the state and offers entrepreneurs access to education, coworking space at The coIN Loft and mentorship.

The Class Instructor is Steve High

Steve is a senior application developer at The Archer Group in Wilmington, Deleware. There, he oversees the life-cycles of projects from inception to delivery and handles all of Archer's Open-Source and iOS-related projects. Steve considers it his mission to write the most efficient code on the block.

Steve has a very diverse yet mature skillset. His focus is primarily geared toward native mobile applications written for iOS (Objective-C) and Android (Java). He has extensive knowledge of web programming and server administration using the LAMP stack of open-source technologies. Among these technologies, Steve has mastered both the PHP and Python programming languages. He is particularly familiar with the Django application framework, and has written seveal plugins for the Wordpress blogging platform.

Steve also has enterprise experience with the Microsoft .NET platform (C#), including the deployment of applications in ASP .NET, ASP .NET MVC, SItecore, Umbraco, and Orchard. He is fluent in most flavors of SQL and has a thorough understanding of Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQLite. He is also an experienced application security auditor. He has conducted penetration tests for Fortune 500 clients for both web and mobile applications.

When he's not coding away in some corner of the office at Archer, Steve spends his time with his wife. He is Archer's reigning chili cookoff champion, a title Steve takes very seriously and works diligently to defend.

About the coIN Loft

The coIN Loft is a coworking space and startup community for creatives, developers, entrepreneurs, freelancers & small businesses. Located in downtown, the 4,500-square-foot facility offers its members access to events, educational programs and courses, mentors and an entire local community of cool people, just like you.