I could probably accelerate the development by using Flex or Silverlight but I really don't want to depend on plugins for the idea I currently want to build on. It's something that has to be accessible to everyone so PHP is my current option. Especially since it has such a large community surrounding it.

About myself as a developer. I'm not a noob developer. I know programming concepts. But I am completely new to web programming. I do know web architecture and AJAX conceptually but I've never touched PHP or java script in my life.

Oh I am also not developing a web app here.

I just want a few pointers to some good resources out there that could have me applying knowledge to building this site on the go.

It is critical that I will need to know a) site design b) AJAX c) Knowledge on implementing a site in a scalable way so that it doesn't become a monolithic block at any time. It has to support agile development d) Security. The site will include payment options so the last thing I'd want would be SQL injections into a non encrypted database and everyones personal info getting stolen. (Stop 'gawking').I need to know how to secure the site on ALL fronts e) FTP services for the site.

So yea. That was a little too much to form into a search query and I don't want to spend time right at the start looking for material that might suit my needs.

So I was hoping the HN community could help me out here by pointing me in the right direction to a bunch of tutorials that help me get into the real development ASAP.

thanks :)

edit 1- first comment I got was to look at Ruby on Rails. I've heard so much about this that I really wouldn't mind. Could people leave resources for both then? If you support Rails drop some resources for Rails here and if it's PHP well.. same thing