Informal php survey

[mathman54]

Hi, I am lookiing for information as to what people are doing with PHP: Are you using just php in your work?
Are you using a templating system like Smarty?
Are you learning php?
Do you find any of the books teaching php any good? Which one(s)?
When an author throws something into the learning process like smarty does that throw you a curve that makes learning more difficult?
Thanks for your replies!

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[cwarn23]

So many questions to answer so here are the answers

Are you using just php in your work?

No, I like to use a wide variety of languages including C++, Java, html, css, Ajax, php and javascript.

Are you using a templating system like Smarty?

If you mean a content management system then in most cases I like to make my own from scratch. That way I can decide how the result is.

Are you learning php?

Well php is a thing where you can never stop learning especially since you can invent core libraries for php using c and c++. So yes I am learning php but at a high level.

Do you find any of the books teaching php any good? Which one(s)?

The only book I've found that covers it all is the Php5 and Mysql bible It has great learning information and makes great reference material with php.net

When an author throws something into the learning process like smarty does that throw you a curve that makes learning more difficult?

Well for some languages that is true but with php, as long as the author clearly explains the process it is normally easy to understand since php is actually one of the easiest languages to learn.