Some beginner PHP advice

It sounds like you should read more about Object Oriented PHP. Or, Jeffrey has some videos on it as well. As far as understanding the framework, I find that clicking through Laravel'various offerings and understanding the "container" is vital. For instance, in Phpstorm or VSCode, you can super + click on a method, class, property, etc and trace it through the framework code. Doing this will help you understand how to use them and how they are constructed.

To get some experience, offer to build a website for friends, family, etc. Try to use the entire process to get some exposure. For a simple site:

- Discovery
- Research
- Choose technologies
- Map out the site structure
- Wireframes
- Mockup
- Build it with tests
- Deliver the files

These are a few simple things you can practice while doing some free work so that you can understand what is involved. It sounds hard but really isn't. Just do what you can and each time you start a project, your processes will improve.

Not sure if you are into books as well as online tutorials, but if so, I would highly recommend getting a copy of 'PHP and MySQL Web Development by Luke Welling and Laura Thomson.

The newest edition (5th) covers PHP 7 and its a big monster that not only teaches you a lot about OOP but gives real world examples you will actually use.

https://www.amazon.com/PHP-MySQL-Development-Developers-Library/dp/0321833899/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1529936151&sr=8-2&keywords=php+and+mysql+web+development

Secondly, in additional to the Laravel From Scratch Series, pick up a copy of Matt Stauffer's book 'Laravel Up & Running' as he is a fairly well known name in the Laravel community and his book is a great companion when going through any series on here that dives into Laravel. Because its a book, he is able to explain some concepts more in depth than Jeffrey can in a 10-12 minute video.

https://www.amazon.com/Laravel-Running-Framework-Building-Modern/dp/1491936088/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1529936276&sr=1-1&keywords=laravel+up+and+running

@ejdelmonico also has some very good advice that he gave you. Along with that I would say be committed to lots of problem solving and life long learning. Stay current and write a lot of code and leave it, then come back to it and re-write it a different way. Absorb as much as you can, but you have to take what you are learning and apply it constantly.

That's my 2 cents on the matter. Cheers and happy coding.

@zarcoder You’re going to struggle with Laravel (and any PHP framework) if you don’t know PHP itself. Find some tutorials or a book on PHP, object-oriented programming (OOP) basics, and then go from there. You need to walk before you can run.

Thanks for the advice guys. I take it too heart. @Jerome2116 I'm definitely a reader. I see however the rating on the recommended PHP-MySQL book is not that great. Seems like there's books with better (and more) ratings. I should also keep in mind to get a book that is not dated. Thanks for the tips.

@martinbean - I agree. I think I'm going to build a few sites in vanilla php and revisit the laravel frame work by year-end.

Thanks also @ejdelmonico for your good advice.

@zarcoder Glad we can offer a bit of advice.

I should have also noted, books are pretty much always going to be dated by the time they are published and printed, so if you want current - look at e-books and/or lots of web tutorials on the current changes and versions.

I have owned a lot of PHP books and the one I recommended has been the best for my way of learning, and it may not cater to you or others as some other book might. So head down to Chapters or Amazon and find something that will engage you and that you want to read start to finish. What works for one, doesn't always work for someone else.

And don't be afraid to ask lots of questions - no matter how silly or stupid they seem, because whether we admit it or not - we have ALL been there at one time or another! Cheers.