Intro to Server-Side Programming
Introduction to PHP

Your Instructor
• David Laietta - @davidlaietta
• Email: dlaietta@valenciacollege.edu
• WordPress Orlando Meetup -
http://www.meetup.com/WordPress-Orlando/

The Class - Things We’ll Learn
• Writing computer programs
• Using a version control system
• Completing individual and group projects
• Collaborating and learning with fellow students
• Knowing what the program does and that it works properly
• Knowing what to fix and how when the program is not
working

What You Need For the Class
• A localhost environment (MAMP or WAMP)
• A Github account (free) to receive and submit
assignments
• Basic computer competency to handle typing, searching
the internet and launching applications
• A basic understanding of high-school level algebra

About The Class
• We have only 13 classes. Attendance is important!
• No Class 30 September and 28 October
• Grading and Exam Policy:
• Participation: 45 points (includes attendance)
• Assignments: 30 points (in class assignments)
• Final Project: 15 points
• Final Exam: 10 points

Lesson One
Introduction to Programming

What is Programming?
• Definition courtesy of Wikipedia:
Computer programming (often shortened to programming) is the comprehensive process that
leads from an original formulation of a computing problem to executable programs. It involves
activities such as analysis, understanding, and generically solving such problems resulting in
an algorithm, verification of requirements of the algorithm including its correctness and its resource
consumption, implementation (or coding) of the algorithm in a target programming language,
testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code, implementation of the build system and management
of derived artefacts such as machine code of computer programs. The algorithm is often only
represented in human-parseable form and reasoned about using logic.
• Programming is:
• Analyzing a problem, determining a solution
• Translating the problem and solution into a computer language
• Finding and fixing errors that come up translating the problem and solution

What is Development?
• Definition courtesy of Wikipedia:
Software development (also known as application development, software design, designing
software, software application development, enterprise application development, or
platform development) is the development of a software product. The term "software
development" may be used to refer to the activity of computer programming, which is the process of
writing and maintaining the source code, but in a broader sense of the term it includes all that is
involved between the conception of the desired software through to the final manifestation
of the software, ideally in a planned and structured process. Therefore, software
development may include research, new development, prototyping, modification, reuse, re-engineering,
maintenance, or any other activities that result in software products.
• Software Development is:
• Computer programming plus all other activities that go into producing a fully functional
software system
• This is not what we are doing in this class

What is Source Control?
• Data is recorded on who did what and when with a
project
• Comments are also set to notate changes that were
made
• Project files can be compared, restored or merged from
any point
• Multiple collaborators can work simultaneously and
tracks

Github
• Find, follow, contribute, pull and fork projects that you
find interesting or that are useful to you
• Publish projects that others might find interesting or
useful
• Collaborate in a group on projects with simple notation
• Keep backups of work in a safe place

Assignment One
Create Github Account

Creating Your Accounts
• Github Account:
• Open https://github.com/signup/free
• Use your Valencia email address, but others can be
added
• Find and follow the Github organization for this class

Set Up Your Workspace
• Create a new Repository in Github called “assignments”
• Open your Workspace and create a file named
“README.md”
• Enter the following in that file, then save:
name: Your Name
class: DIG1108C, Fall 2014
• Use terminal to “git add” and “git commit” your file
• Use “git push origin master” to send the file to Github

HomeWork One
Testing Your New Toolkit

Exploring Your Tools
• Part 1:
• Find the Github account for this class (vc-dig1108-fall-2013)
• Find the repository for the syllabus
• Sign up for change notifications by “watching” the repo
• Part 2:
• Find an interesting project on Github, preferably small
• Research the project and prepare to explain it in Class Two
• Copy (“fork”) the repo into your own Github account