Getting Real runs down all aspects of starting the business of running a web app in the minds of the folks behind the creation of 37 Signals web apps. You get the chance to see the break down of the thought process. From the development of the idea of the site and how to effectively build out an idea and refine it into something worth working on. Then you get other aspect like team building and how to choose the right people for the job. There are various tips on how to build up the brand of your web app and what kinds of realities to expect when actually building one up.

The format of the book is new to me, because they use very simple paragraphs to explain the idea and then feedback from respected people in the industry to backup those ideas. The nice thing is this book presents you with real life examples of important things in a way you can easily digest.

I read this book a month or two ago and the information has stuck with me. I will most likely re-read this book again soon, as it is free to read online, since I will be developing a new web app soon. Take a day or even a week and sit down to read this book. You will be glad you did.

I will confess, I was extremely late to the whole PHP framework game. This was my very first attempt at developing an extremely small site using a framework. I needed something to test it out on, so I used it on a clients site. Coming from a self taught PHP/mySQL background, I am used to having to figure things out for myself. Apparently of all the PHP framworks, CodeIgniter has one of the higher learning curves. CodeIgniter comes paired with an amazing user guide, which saved me many many hours of searching Google for solutions.

My first client site using CodeIgniter was a simple four page site with an admin panel to manage photos. Overall building the site, from start to finish, it took me roughly 16 hours to make it. Of those 16 hours, I probably spent 10 reading documentation and getting a feel for the framework. One of the joys of a framework is almost all your everyday functions are already coded into it. The only thing holding you back from making anything you want is knowing exactly what each module can do. This is where the excellent documentation comes in to play.

Another factor for my choice of learning CodeIgniter is how it was crafted with security and speed in mind. Ellislab took the time to make sure CodeIgniter’s built in functions were as absolutely secure as possible. They also took the time to optimize the code and reduce the load on a server. Not like my first four page site was going to need heaps of security or was going to be getting millions of hits a day. In fact I think it recieves roughly 15 hits a day, so its not a big client by any means.

Now after having made the first site, I can see easily cranking out web apps in the fastest possible time with CodeIgniter. I am very impressed with the framework overall. I instantly saw the benefits when working on client projects and building custom web apps. I have since used CodeIgniter on a few more projects and it has been invalueble. The biggest benefit of CodeIgniter is the speed in which you develop and launch a web app. I highly recommend it as a first framework for anyone brave enough to jump right into the mix and get their hands dirty.