I heard at a seminar once that PHP is easy to write horrible code and get away with it. I think that's true. Having said that, I think you're more likely to se

I heard at a seminar once that PHP is easy to write horrible code and get away with it. I think that's true. Having said that, I think you're more likely to see bad code coming from really, really bad programmers who started out with PHP 4. This, and the fact that my first PHP codebase came from a setup where register_globals was enabled which allowed for strange variables to pop out of thin air, made my experience with PHP one I am happy to leave behind. I would be surprised if the code quality of recent PHP projects is as bad as the older ones. From memory, I can advise you to stay clear of Joomla and phpBB - although circumstances may have changed. Learn OO in PHP first, then pick a framework over a CMS to cut your teeth on, and you should have a good start. EDIT: And please, oh please, whatever you do, don't mix your business logic with print/echo instructions.