The
PHP Manual is a good resource to peruse. But picking up a book that walks you through a few projects is probably the best way to get a real understanding of how PHP functions.
You should also have a read through Nick's Genesis Explained series (linked in my sig) and of course all the tutorials on Genesis you can find
starting with StudioPress'.
But for just adding a new div all you really need is a grasp of
Genesis hooks and how to structure a function. Which for a new div above the footer would go something like (the "1" in the add action on the first line is a priority number and you might need to raise that to get it beneath the footer widgets):
PHP Code:
add_action('genesis_before_footer', 'my_new_div', 1);
function my_new_div() {
echo '<div id="NEW_DIV">STUFF IN THE DIV IF NOT PHP</div>';
}
That would go in functions.php.
Or of course you could use the
Genesis Simple Hooks plugin