LNoir

Hi Kree8or, An e-commerce platform that I've recently discovered but that is well established is OpenCart. I've not needed to use it yet but I have seen and had a play with both the back end interface and the front end user experience and it's a pretty solid and easy to use piece of software. There's also an OpenCart plugin for Wordpress which is great for sites/small businesses that have a relatively small collection of products (say, under a 100), and also means that there's separate content management available beyond just modifying the products. Another option is Magento. I've heard a lot about it but never played with it's interface or code. From what I hear though, it takes longer to set up and get to grips with than OpenCart. Hopefully someone else will be able to offer some more direct experience of one or both of these to give you more info, but I'd certainly start by looking up these two e-commerce platforms. Hope that helps. Noir

Hi, Netbeans is definitely a good choice of IDE if you want an easy way to manage your projects as well as code completion and integrated version control. Be mindful though that it can be a bit slow depending on the system you're using and how many projects/files you've got open. I often find when I'm using it I've finished typing the code before the code completion kicks in to make a suggestion. To speed up coding I would suggest taking advantage of it's custom code templates. Netbeans allows you to define a string that will output a snippet/block of code. For example, you could define a code snippet called 'selectInput' (under HTML) that would output: <select name="mySelectInput"> <option value="1">1</option> <option value="2">2</option> ... </select> Any time you need to create a select input, you could just type 'selectInput', tab, and you'd have the block of code appear ready to be edited. Using this for commonly typed code sequences can really save you some time. Just one of many great features of Netbeans. Noir

Hi Christian, Just wanted to chime in on this one, Evu has it spot on. Doing is your quickest way to go from being a beginner to someone that actually has a clue what they're doing. Be prepared to fail, a lot. And be thankful for all the failures, because the mistakes you make you'll inevitably learn from and they will make you a better web designer/developer. If you're looking for books because you want to get the principles straight in your head when away from your computer, then great. Otherwise, I would really suggest using the tons of resources available on the net. When you're stuck with an issue, it will be far quicker to find the solution via the web than via a book. Couple more things, especially regarding PHP and MySQL: 1. If you are serious about learning them, and if you haven't already, start building something. Anything. As long as it requires a simple database and a bit of logic. It will help you better understand how database interaction works, as well as the considerations that you should be aware of (form validation, data sanitization, etc). 2. Get very familiar and cosy with sites like w3schools.com (or reference.sitepoint.com), php.net and dev.mysql.com. Particularly the last two, you'll find lots of information on these sites and in fact, when you start googling how a particular function works or action is supposed to be performed in code, you'll very often end up on one of these sites. You may as well bookmark them now and be prepared to spend a lot of time with them

Melpa, if that is your first original mix, it's very impressive. I also make music in my spare time (which I have little of these days). I don't make trance, but I don't need to to recognise a solid effort. Nicely done. Which software do you use to produce? FL Studio?

Hi Everyone, Just a brief intro... I've been involved in web tech for a few years now and am just starting my own freelance web design/development business. I'm by no means a guru, but I have my share of experience. Hopefully I can share with some of you and exchange knowledge and ideas here. Honestly, this could be my only post, or I could (and hopefully will) become an active member of the community. If it's the later, I look forward to speaking with you! Be well! L Noir