Hi everyone,

Glad I found this forum as I am trying to improve my web developing skills!

I use wordpress and am fascinated by the coding behind it so have decided to learn about PHP, MYSQL and CSS etc.

I was wondering if any of you know of any good PHP books for a beginner? My HTML is not bad but I need a good base for learning so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance...

Hi There,
I used to use a book when I first started called Sams Teach yourself PHP by Julie C Meloni, came in very handy!

Hey Joe.
You can't go wrong with any book by Larry Ullman. I've had the last 4 editions from his Visual QuickPro series.
Click his name to see what he's got on Amazon. All of his PHP books have high ratings.

Get a book called php and mysql web development by luke wellington and laura thompson that was a really good php book.

why get a book? try www.w3schools.com
you can learn css, php, html and almost all internet related subjects. it is very easy to understand.

@ Andy, Moxx & Knight - Thanks very much for your suggestions, I'll check them all out and probably go for the cheapest!

@ nayes - Nice idea but I think I'd rather have a book in front of me to read from while looking at the screen rather than flicking between windows...

Originally Posted by mogulmedia

@ Andy, Moxx & Knight - Thanks very much for your suggestions, I'll check them all out and probably go for the cheapest!

@ nayes - Nice idea but I think I'd rather have a book in front of me to read from while looking at the screen rather than flicking between windows...

While I understand the desire to have a book, I personally favor and recommend nayes method of using w3schools. Simply opening a tab in a browser allowed me to copying and paste code directly, the walk-throughs were easy to understand, the search function helped find specifically what I was looking for, it covers more than just php and your don't lose your place in the book. It is free too, so that is always nice. It really is a great site.

@ nayes and Snap...
I agree that using the web is much more convenient and free. I've used the web plenty of times. But, I prefer to actually type the code rather than copy/paste. It helps me to retain the information better in my head. I'm not young anymore and my memory isn't as great as it used to be. Also, I can always go to the book even when I'm not online.

IMO, using both resources would be recommended.

Personally I'd avoid purchasing a book covering PHP syntax. Anything you could find in a book you can find on the internet, and it's likely to be more up to date (the stuff worth reading anyway).

PHP books, for example the "PHP and MySQL Web Development (by Luke welling and laura thomson)" I've seen mentioned a few times; the latest edition (4) is almost 3 years old. PHP has undergone some massive changes since then, especially with the latest major release of 5.3. If you do insist on getting a book on PHP, get one covering PHP5.3.

Better than a syntax focused book though, I'd recommend getting one covering programming principles and methodologies. You'll learn far more than you ever could from learning the syntax of a language.

tizag do some great tutorials on php..

They dont take long to go through and as long as you know how to get php working
ie:

if you put
index.php
<?php
echo "hello";
?>

and it works, You will be well on your way within hours.

hi. i would suggest getting one from friends of ed. they offer good books for php and fairly easier to learn using their methods. if you can, i also suggest the rockstar wordpress ebook. happy learning

When I teach my college students PHP,I start them off with "PHP 5:Your visual blueprint for creating open source, server-side content" because it is an excellent easy-to-follow starter book. After that,the PHP documentation is usually more than sufficient. Another book I like is "Sams Teach Yourself PHP,MySQL and Apache." There's a pretty good primer for PHP on the DreamHost,along with an accompanying article on MySQL and PHP.The secret to getting the most out of a PHP/MySQL application is understanding what you can achieve with MySQL a thorough grounding in SQL will serve you well.

Originally Posted by lynxus

if you put
index.php
<?php
echo "hello";
?>

and it works, You will be well on your way within hours.

Ha.. overstatement of the century!

Hello,

Why do you need a book when you can subscribe to Lynda.com for a very small monthly fee, and they have hundreds of thousands of videos on all things techy. When I was learning PHP, it was very hard to understand without someone showing me, with this you get complete video tutorials that show you how to start from start to finish. It is very easy to use, and I have learned alot on it. Plus, rather then purchase a book and learn one specific language, subscribe to Lynda and have access to tons of tutorials. If you would like, I could give you a preview of what lynda.com looks like in the user interface!

I agree that using the web is much more convenient and free. I've used the web plenty of times.

Agreed. http://www.phpbuddy.com is one site.

Originally Posted by Knight13

Get a book called php and mysql web development by luke wellington and laura thompson that was a really good php book.

I have that book really good!

I use Larry Ullman ebooks, that are great, will tell you anything you need to know on developing skills you need!

Originally Posted by samdigital

I use Larry Ullman ebooks, that are great, will tell you anything you need to know on developing skills you need!

Larry Ullman ebooks found them on my local library website and he has alot good ones. Also phpbuddy.com is good too!