Smarty

[matius]

Sorry, missed information on what I can use this for- difficulty understanding. Would I use Smarty if I wanted to build a news and entertainment website- continually updated information on news, sports, entertainment, fashion, etc...

Do I build the website from scratch- create the layout any way that I want and then implement and combine Smarty. For I.E., design the site templates and work from there.

Or do I have to consult Smarty while I'm designing the site...this is unclear to me.

I KNOW - Thick: I haven't been developing long but am looking to build a site like this above and I need to build it right from the ground up. Should I be looking into Smarty? What kind of a learning curve is this (I know some PHP but have to wing alot using books and articles)? Do I have to consult Smarty when designing the layout.

Thanks so much for any help

[Brian]

There are literally dozens of readily available tutorials and articles that show you exactly what smarty is for. Check phpbuilder.com, zend.com, this site, or just run a search on google for "smarty tutorial" or something...

[matius]

Thanks...

There aren't any books right?

[boots]

It won't help you now, but by the end of the summer, there will be more starting-point articles available

As for a book--none that I am aware of but that is a great idea! Hmmm--there's a project I would be interested in working on, though I'm not too interested in going that one alone. If only there weren't already so many projects to work on

Good-luck Matius! I'm sure you will find Smarty to be a breeze. When you do get stuck, there's usually a helpful soul here to ask advice from.

ps. Matius, why do you HAVE to build it from the ground up? Unless it is for fun, or an educational project or a specific business requirement, you'll find that those who do have a lot of development background will typically eschew building anything from the ground-up. Its part laziness and part recognition that writing correct, error free and efficient software is a *hard* thing to do. If someone else has done it (or better, a team has done it) then it is typically to your advantadge to, ummm, BORROW, that effort. Moreso, if you borrow an open-sourced project, you also gain the benefit of developers from around the globe who are continually improving the software (as opposed to your singular effort). Like I said there may be a business reason (for example, liscence issues) but unless you are developing a program for resale, business issues are likely moot. There may not be an existing project that meets your needs, and that is another matter (although sometimes, several existing projects can be rolled to meet your needs). Obviously, I'm kinda lazy so take that in to account as you consider my words.

Take care and happy coding!