WordPress in a Local Development Environment

WordPress

And so it came to pass that I began delving into building web sites in a more efficient way. Goodbye, flat HTML pages. Hello, WordPress!

I downloaded a copy of WordPress from WordPress.org, and, with the help of several text and video tutorials and a knowledgeable friend, I went to town. Now I have the power of thousands of themes and plugins, and a huge amount of online resources available to learn to build an sleek, functioning web site.

* As a side note, PHP is magical! No more manually inputting and updating headers and footers on every page of a website. I only built one site without PHP, and that was one site too many. Back to WordPress.

So maybe I am 11 years behind. Who cares? WordPress may have come out in 2003, but it is still widely used. Nearly 23% of all websites are running on WordPress. So WordPress is still worth getting into. After all, age is just a number. You’re only as old as you feel. WordPress is like a fine wine…

WAMP

There comes a time in a fledgling developer’s life when it becomes a necessity to install a bunch of programs you know nothing about (because people on the internet say you need them), and then you find yourself spending an afternoon (or three) figuring out how to make them work. Okay, maybe it isn’t as bad as all that, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

What is WAMP? I’m so glad you asked. It is a packaged install for Windows that includes updated versions of Apache, MySQL, and PHP. Check it out. Linux and Mac have their own versions, LAMP and MAMP, respectively. I won’t get into what Apache, MySQL and PHP are because that would take a long time. And I don’t want to take all the fun out of what may be some light reading for you.

Short story: WAMP sets up a local web development environment. After the install, and following along with some awesomely clear and concise tutorials, I created a local database, installed WordPress into the assigned location in the /wamp directory, and I was on my way.

Next Time…

Of course, simply being able to see my WordPress site seemingly develop itself before my very eyes on my local PC wasn’t enough. Soon, I wanted to test it on my iPhone to see changes immediately after making an update to my stylesheet instead of having to resize my browser window over and again. I assumed that should be easy enough. And also I wanted to migrate my website from my local environment to a live server. So, I just drag some files from my PC to my web host, right? Right?

*crickets*

It’s a Numbers Game…

A Quick Update

I’ve been quite busy lately.  So busy (and actually productive) that I can’t bring myself to feel guilty for not posting more regularly.  I’m currently attending classes full time, and I’m studying programming and German in my free time.  I’m also building a board game with a friend.  Some days I only have 30 minutes to spend on code.  Other days, I lose track of time trying to build a GUI (graphical user interface) to display character information for the aforementioned board game.  Just for fun.  I’m just trying to make progress where and when I can.

Progress Report

I’m still working many of the same resources and programs I’ve previously shared.  On Codecademy, I completed the HTML/CSS courses and the JavaScript courses.  I’m currently working on their JQuery modules.  For Programmer’s Creed, I’m going through the JavaScript videos.  Oh.  And I’m actually building things. Simple things like a number guessing game and a personal web page that is nowhere near complete.  For one, it doesn’t look good across all browsers.  I think really only Firefox likes it.  But, it’s a step in the right direction.  And one day it will be a real website!

The best thing about working on a personal project is that it shows you where you have gaps in your knowledge.  Many times, after completing a Coedecademy lesson, I’ll think that I understand something pretty well.  And then I try to implement it into a project.  And I realize that I have a broad idea of how it is supposed to work, but I don’t know how to actually use it.  I love these moments!  They give me an opportunity to research and play a bit more and really understand a concept.  Create a project and play around.  You’ll be forced to learn.

Coder Spotlight:

Riley Hilliard

I take pleasure in reading about others’ successes and learning how they achieved their goals.  Since his own writing explains it clearly, I won’t go into too much detail.  But I want to point out that Riley started out doing much the same of what we are: online modules, self-study, and building personal and, later, friend’s projects.  Make it a goal to start your own portfolio and add things to it consistently.

Please read his article on How I Learned to Code in Under 10 Months.  And check out his personal portfolio too.

In closing

Set a goal for yourself to create one project in the coming weeks.  It can be a single HTML page complete with CSS and a few images.  Or it can be a number guessing game.  By the way, here is the tutorial I followed to build mine.  That should provide you an hour or two of fun.

Until next time!

JavaScript is Sexy

If you’re delving into the world of programming, especially on your own, it can feel a bit overwhelming.  It’s hard to know where to even begin.

Luckily, thousands of programmers, coders and child geniuses who have gone before us have left sweet maps and signs along the path to guide us forward to our goal.  Remember, we’re never lost.  Sometimes we just need a good map and we’re back on course.

If you’re following along with me and currently learning JavaScript, I highly recommend you check out JavaScript is Sexy – How to Learn JavaScript Properly.  The site has a lot of great information on JavaScript and several JavaScript frameworks such as Backbone.js, Handlebars.js and Node.js, and I am finding their 6-8 week guideline to be a great resource for studying JavaScript.  Properly.

Read through the guide and see what it involves.  I think you’ll be surprised at how straight-forward it is.  Will we be JavaScript geniuses after it completing it?  Probably no.  But we’ll be getting a huge amount of information jammed into our craniums quickly, and this provides a strong base to grow from.

Based on their recommendations, I am working through JavaScript: The Definitive Guide.  See if your local library has this or other JavaScript books.  Also, yes, I’m going slower than the 6-8 week map JavaScript is Sexy provides, but we’re all busy people, right?  The goal is continuous forward motion.

Project Euler

Okay, I’m geeking out a bit over this bit.  If you enjoy logic, problem solving and a healthy amount of maths (which is a strong possibility since you’re interested in coding), check out Project Euler.  This site has hundreds of mathematics problems puzzles that you solve using your coding knowledge.  The puzzles are pretty intense for a noob, and even the beginning ones take a decent amount of programming language knowledge to complete.  Please note: I am in no way a math genius.  I think I pulled a high C in my Calculus class, and not for lack of trying.  If you don’t dream in numbers, you can still enjoy these puzzles.

If you can conceptualize a way to solve the puzzle, you can research the means to accomplish it using the code of your choice.  And this is a good thing.  I have learned a lot of JS code and shortcuts through researching how to, for instance, turn a Number into a String and then reverse that String.  Just start at the beginning and you’ll quickly learn how to write a simple code to print out the numbers 1-10.

In closing

Enjoy yourself.  Take breaks when you need or want.  If you aren’t having fun, you’re doing it wrong.  And if you have any suggestions for other JavaScript guides that work for you, please let me know.