Intro To Php Recommendations

[skinnydan]

For the first of what will undoubtedly be many moron questions from yours truly, can anyone suggest a good comprehensive overview of Php for morons? I have a good grasp of html, but I know zero about programming & scripting and I'd like to learn in a way that won't tax my overtired brain.

 

Amazon listed a Php for Dummies that might be appropriate, but I'd be grateful for any other recommendations. I'd prefer a book to a website, but I'll take anything that the collected wisdom here thinks is a good place to start.

 

TIA,

 

Dan

[TCH-Bruce]

I had posted a link to another thread on the forum that had a link to download a PHP book. This was clearly a copyright violation and the thread has been removed.

[nortk]

Bruce,

Your link takes me to an error message:

 

"Sorry, some required files are missing, if you intended to view a topic, it's possible that it's been moved or deleted. Please go back and try again."

 

And, I really liked "PHP and MySQL Web Development" by Luke Welling and Laura Thomson. Personally, I think it's very well written, and works well as an introduction to programming concepts in general, and PHP in particular. For example, the chapter on arrays teaches you what arrays are all about, and then gets into the details of how to program with them in PHP.

 

If you went that route, and intend to use it for PHP programming here at TCH, I would recommend going with an older edition. The newer editions use PHP 5.x, but TCH is using 4.x.

Edited February 2, 2007 by nortk

[TCH-Bruce]

Read my post above yours for the reason. I edited the post.

 

I have a PHP for Dummies book. It's a great starting point.

[TCH-Don]

I have many PHP books

but the best to start with is Sams Teach Yourself PHP in 24 Hours.

 

The SAMS collection of 24 hours books a great to start with and then use as a reference.

[stevevan]

I agree with both of the suggestions above. I have several of the "...for Dummies" books and still refer to them often!

[Steve Scrimpshire]

Since others here posted info about great books, I will post a link. This is how I learned:

http://www.php.net/manual/en/

Contributors' comments help clarify things (when reading posted comments, remember they read from bottom up and when people say 'the poster above' they really mean 'the poster below')

[jhollin1138]

And, I really liked "PHP and MySQL Web Development" by Luke Welling and Laura Thomson. Personally, I think it's very well written, and works well as an introduction to programming concepts in general, and PHP in particular. For example, the chapter on arrays teaches you what arrays are all about, and then gets into the details of how to program with them in PHP.

 

I second this recommendation!