As a PHP enthusiast, when I need to look up a php term that I don’t know how to use, I go to php.net/manual/en/
On the php.net website, I can easily search for any php term. Useful definitions appear, and I can learn about the terms quickly. It’s like a php dictionary. And it’s a convenient way to obtain information as you need it.
However, I have not found similar easy search functionality on the yii website. For example, today I went here:
Unfortunately, using this approach, I have not been able to quickly find clear explanations for Yii2 terms on the Yii2 website. The search results do not seem relevant or helpful.
Am I looking the in the wrong place? Is there a complete list of terms somewhere that I can refer to, as I learn how to use Yii2?
I’ve found a pdf, which is easier to search, but it may be out of date:
Thanks MetaCrawler. It’s interesting to know how you’ve learned yii.
However, it seems the fastest way to get quick answers when I need them – about random yii2 terms such as "redirect" or "find" – is to search the pdf document at stuff.cebe.cc/yii2-guide.pdf.
Is that pdf document up to date? Or is there a newer version?
What MetaCrawler said should be made global sticky and placed in every section of this forum. 99% of problems posted here every day can be solved by going through the docs.
The answers may be in the guide, but they’re not easy to find. That’s the problem.
As I wrote in my original post, if I go to the yii 2 guide ( http://www.yiiframework.com/doc-2.0/guide-intro-yii.html ) and search for a term such as "render" or "redirect" or "find", I get results whose relevance is not obvious.
In comparison, if I search the php web site ( http://php.net/manual/en/book.phar.php ) for a php term such as "foreach" or "while", I get a clear explanation of how each term is used – along with comments from users. This is very convenient for obtaining information as needed.
After posting my original comment, I’ve noticed from searching Google that I am not the only user who wishes for better search functionality on the Yii2 website. The first step to address need this would be to recognize that the php.net search functionality is far superior. Whether there are enough knowledgeable volunteers available to fix the yii2 website shortcoming is another matter.
Both "foreach" and "while" are language constructs in PHP so they have well defined meaning on their own. On the other hand words like "render", "redirect" or "find" have no meaning in Yii unless you specify the context, ie. the classname.
Going back to the main question, Yii has same function names used in many contexts.
For example, ‘render’ function is available in multiple classes i.e. yii\base\View & yii\base\Controller both have a render function. However, they differ in their functionality. So there is no single description for the render function.
The search currently lists all pages with the word render, so I look for the API document of the class I am working with and read the docs for associated render method.
Other than above, MetaCrawler’s advice is solid 10/10.
