Section 1.3.  Getting Help

1.3. Getting Help

If you have tried debugging and failed, don't fretthere are still support options where you might find your solution.

1.3.1. The Documentation

The first place to check should always be the PHP documentation , available online from http://www.php.net/manual. The manual contains documentation on all PHP functions, as well as various usage examples, and also user comments. Very often it's the user comments that are most helpful, because people recount problems they've experienced in the past and how they got around them. The PHP manual is an excellent resource that should help you deepen your understanding of all aspects of the language.

1.3.2. Mailing Lists

There are several mailing lists that focus specifically on PHP, the most popular of which are hosted by the PHP web site itself. Visit http://www.php.net/mailing-lists.php to see a list of possibilities. You will most likely want the general mailing list, as it includes hundreds of questions and answers being sent each day.

Before you post:

• Read the list for a while to get a flavor of how to ask questions and to make sure the list covers the right area for your question.

• Make sure you have HTML mail disabled in your email client; only plain-text emails are accepted.

• Never attach files to your email.

• If you are having a problem, give a code example showing the problem in the simplest way. It helps people more if you say what you expected to get as output, what you did get, as well as other information such as what version of PHP you have, etc.

• Do not post to the Internals list unless you really know what you are doing. This list is not for questions about how to install PHP, how to use a certain function, or why a script does not workit is for the actual developers of PHP to discuss code changes and new releases of PHP. You do not need to post to this list asking whether you can use or redistribute PHPthe answer is "yes."

1.3.4. IRC

One of the fastest ways to get answers about PHP is to use one of the two popular PHP IRC channels. They both regularly have 200-300 people on there who program in PHP, of which between 10 and 20 are chatting away about something. Peak activity times are evenings in U.S. EST (five hours behind GMT).

If you have an IRC client installed (such as the Firefox extension ChatZilla: https://addons.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.php?id=16), connect to Efnet (see http://efnet.org) or FreeNode (see http://freenode.net) and go to channel #php. Note that both channels (EFNet #php and FreeNode #php) have very strict rules: do not ask to ask (that is, do not say, "Can I ask a question about XYZ?"just ask), do not post more than two lines of code into the channel at one time, do not start evangelistic fights over Perl/Java/etc., and so on. Be sure to check the channel rules as you enter, or you may find yourself kicked out for breaking them.

A word of warning: don't believe everything you hear about PHP in IRC channels, particularly if the person talking isn't a channel operator. Many people come and go, and they aren't necessarily experienced enough to give authoritative answers.

Furthermore, be prepared to show people your code when on IRC. A popular site is http://www.pastebin.com, which lets you paste your PHP code online and pass the URL out to other people on IRC so that they can look at it and discuss potential fixes with you directly.

1.3.5. Conferences

Going along to one of the PHP events around the world is a great way to meet up with your peers and share ideas, solutions, and learn new things. These conferences are usually a mix of general discussion between attendees, a sponsor expo where you can see companies involved in the PHP arena, and tutorials where you can listen to lectures from luminaries in various fields about new developments in PHP.

If you're only going to go to one conference, I'd recommend you make it O'Reilly's Open Source Convention: it covers a variety of programming languages and platforms, but PHP always puts on a good show there. If not that, then consider either the International PHP Conference (http://www.phpconference.com) or the Zend PHP Conference (http://zend.kbconferences.com), which cover more detailed topics due to their specific focus on PHP.

If you've never been to a big conference before, here are some hints: take a spiral-bound half-page (A5) notepad with you for writing, a selection of cheap pens (you'll lose most of them, but should get freebies to replace them while at the conference), some small snacks to keep you going between meals, business cards, a USB thumb drive (memory stick), and, of course, a WiFi-compatible laptop. Apple laptops are becoming increasingly prevalent, but anything that supports 802.11b/g is good.

1.3.6. User Groups

If you're not into the conference scene, user groups might be more your style. Most parts of the world already have Linux user groups (LUGs) where you can ask for help on everything from setting up your Apache server to debugging scriptsthere are usually people there who are skilled in PHP, too. Some cities also have PHP user groups that are, obviously, more helpful for direct PHP-related questions.

The best place to look for PHP user group information is directly on the PHP site itself: the PHP events calendar (http://www.php.net/cal.php) is regularly updated and should provide you with all the information you need.

1.3.7. Submitting a Bug

If you are convinced you have found a problem with PHP, it is quite possible you are correct and should notify the developers. Note that many hundreds of "bogus bugs" have been reported in the past, which are usually the result of people not reading the manual correctly or otherwise missing a flaw in their code. If you think you have found a problem, follow these steps before you submit a bug: