[thelist] Advanced PHP mailing list?

[Simon Willison]

At 23:01 30/07/2002 +0900, you wrote:
>You mean to say we don't discuss "advanced" stuff here? :)
>
>I think I have found some of my best tips and tricks on this list, or
>phpbuilder.com, or alt.php. But sure, I guess there is always room for
>"another". Just not sure what advanced means.

I work with Tim and we're trying to define that now. The basic problem is
that PHP has a very low barrier to entry. This is great, but it does mean
that the PHP community has a very large ratio of relatively new
programmers. This can lead to discussions on more advanced topics being
drowned out amidst the requests for more basic assistance.

We're almost certainly going to set a list up now, and it is likely to have
a pretty heavy set of guidelines. One such guideline we are currently
considering is "If you're question starts 'how do I...' it probably
shouldn't be sent to this list." I for one would value a list that
concentrates on discussing advanced techniques rather than simply asking
questions - "Techniques for parsing HTML documents", "Using OOP to enhance
script maintainability", "Designing a plugin architecture" - those are
three topics off the top of my head that I think would be well suited to a
list for advanced developers.

There are plenty of excellent resources for PHP newcomers, and many of
these are great for experienced coders as well. Unfortuantely they tend to
be very high traffic - php-general for example is an excellent list but a
serious commitment for your mail client ;)

At the end of the day if it doesn't work it doesn't work, but we hope this
can become a valuable resource for serious developers.

Regards,

Simon Willison