I was a PHP developer for six years. I also learned by writing "real world" applications, except I almost always kept my browser open using the manual as a refe

I was a PHP developer for six years. I also learned by writing "real world" applications, except I almost always kept my browser open using the manual as a reference. Then I found Python and Django. Now I just kinda type... 7/10 times I'll get it right, which is a great feeling! I also read a lot, and often find little gems in books that I wouldn't have picked up as quickly by tinkering.