"True PHP Developer?"

A question was asked on a group discussion, added my remarks, thought I would save them here as well, because the core of the question hits on various topics of understanding technology.

The question as it was asked: What is your definition of a "True PHP Developer?"

The larger issue at hand, is what is a true developer versus a scripter.

A lot of the answers addressed what I said, but some of the definitions get too hung up on the fact that PHP is a scripting language.

What is a developer.

If someone takes an existing chunk of code, programming or scripting, and makes a few changes to it to customize it, they are not a true developer.

Whatever your chosen tool, PHP, PERL, VB, C, etc., a true developer is someone who can create a solution to a problem using their chosen tool. It is no as much about the tool, as it is the ability to create something from scratch to solve a problem using your chosen tool.

I spend a lot of time re-writing or editing existing scripts in order to take existing scripts, and modify them to my own needs. But could I build from scratch an entire application using that scripting language. Probably not, because I do not have that level of skill.

There are many folks that sell themselves as developers that can open up notepad, and edit an existing script, but do not have the skills to truly build from scratch.