The title says it all really. I want to begin programing in PHP and wondered if anyone could recommend a good book on the subject. I have very little knowledge on the subject so need something that covers the fundamentals in detail before moving on to the more advanced stuff.
To be honest, all you need to know is on the web (there are *loads* of sites aimed for people who are just starting out - google "php for beginners" or summat). If you really want a book though, I've always thought the O'reilly ones aren't too bad.
a book that really got me going was PHP MySQL and APACHEE its an all in one book but its great, clear easy to fallow examples practical examples i cant remember who put it out but when i get home ill look and post it
I got a PHP/MySQL book that's been pretty helpful. That, plus php.net (google "php [function name]" - first result) is very helpful. It's pretty thick (1.5" or so)... I think it's called "PHP and MySQL for Dynamic Web Sites". Well worth the money imo. Not sure if it'll cover enough beginner stuff though, I had a vague working knowledge, really from C (they're fairly similar languages). It covers basic PHP stuff pretty rapidly, but it's more for learning MySQL than for PHP.
I read Build Your Own Database Driven Website Using PHP & MySQL and that book took me from knowing absolutely no php at all (I just knew PHP was one of those things you could use to make a dynamic website... at the time I didn't fully realize what a dynamic website was either.) to knowing enough PHP to get a job doing nothing but PHP coding. It was super simple, and got me started very quickly. After that, all I've used is the bit-tech forums and the PHP Manual. The cool thing about PHP, is if you know the name of the function you want, but you don't know how to use the function, you can just go to the PHP manual page for it. For example, the manual page for str_replace() would be http://www.php.net/str_replace How much easier can you get?
http://forums.bit-tech.net/showpost.php?p=1278881&postcount=15 Despite the name, it starts off with the basics
Thanks for all of your replys, i've now bought a couple of books on the subject. Now you can expect loads of PHP questions from me.
I purchased the same book the other day on Amazon.co.uk - around £13 incl. postage - and it's a fantastic book. I've already learnt many things within the first chapter that had confused me in the past.
What about the PHP CookBook by o'reilly? Also check out php.net - i found everything I needed in that free site.. no need to buy a book ^_^
