Best PHP book?

**321web** · Jul 23, 2005, 11:20

What book would you guys recommend on php? Something that has complete overall coverage of the language.

**TriGeminal** · Jul 23, 2005, 12:22

-PHP Anthology by Harry (so cute)

and other books here in site point are great too ..

You will find many posts about best php books here if you searched this forum

**mark_W** · Jul 23, 2005, 12:24

I'll second the anthology. It does depend on what your current knowledge is though!

**Atealtha** · Jul 23, 2005, 12:27

I never found any use from PHP books. Reading in depth tutorials helped me.
That and just experiementing myself while reading php.net

**mark_W** · Jul 23, 2005, 12:34

Yeah, I would say php.net is by far one of the best resources and severly underused to if you ask me. Sometimes though, its just nice to see things in a book. I guess it all depends how you learn!

**Atealtha** · Jul 23, 2005, 13:01

The most I got from a PHP Book was the very basics and a little bit of the syntax.
Now that I think about it I'm not sure what gave me the boost in learning PHP.

**Eich** · Jul 23, 2005, 13:38

I read Kevin Yanks book "Build Your Own Database Driven Website Using PHP & MySQL" from sitepoint. It covers most of the basic terms of the language and is a great way to start learning both PHP and MySQL.
The PHP anthology requires you to have some knowledge of the language, so it's a great follow up book.
The manual on php.net is great, no doubt about it, but if you're completly new, it's a bit overwhelming. Once you get the hang of the basics though, it's a great resource.

**321web** · Jul 23, 2005, 16:39

I would say I do have a bit of an understanding of the language. In that case what do you suggest?

**gregor002** · Jul 23, 2005, 16:52

PHP and MySQL Web Development by Luke Welling and Laura Thomson is a classic.

**321web** · Jul 24, 2005, 22:40

Now I see there is 2 volumes....oh jeez. Do I need both?

**mehrdad** · Jul 25, 2005, 17:53

Anything by WROX publication is awesome. I started with Beginning PHP 4 and then got Professional PHP 4.
As the guys have mentioned above, php.net is a sweet place to go to as well.

**Gonik** · Jul 25, 2005, 18:07

My first PHP book was Core PHP Programming by Leon Atkinson. It was very well written. Can be used also for Reference later on. Especially the first version i own (which covered PHP 3) is heavily marked with a highlighter pen

I have bought all 3 editions (each edition covers a major PHP version, with the last being 3rd Edition, covering PHP 5).

Also as grego002 says, PHP and MySQL WebDev is REALLY well written if you don't have any programming background.

When you get some experience, purchase O'Reilly 's PHP Cookbook. After that you only need the official (Enhanced prefered) PHP Manual version for quick references and user examples.

**melchiorus** · Jul 25, 2005, 19:36

Originally Posted by gregor002

PHP and MySQL Web Development by Luke Welling and Laura Thomson is a classic.

Totally agree, I learned what I know from it and "Beginning PHP4" from Wrox which is out of date by now.

**gregor002** · Jul 25, 2005, 21:51

Whatever you get make sure it provides you with a taste of OOP ... My recommendation would be to read something like the book I posted then move on to the PHP Anthology: I've only seen the sample chapters but they look great!

**mbriggs** · Jul 25, 2005, 21:53

Originally Posted by mark_W

Yeah, I would say php.net is by far one of the best resources and severly underused to if you ask me. Sometimes though, its just nice to see things in a book. I guess it all depends how you learn!

How do you use php.net to improve you skills? How should i use it to help me?

**mbriggs** · Jul 25, 2005, 22:08

So what is the best way to use php.net? How would i use it to help me better understand the language?

**amrknt** · Jul 25, 2005, 22:16

php.net, sitepoint.com & phpFreaks.com, that's it.

**Archbob** · Jul 25, 2005, 23:11

I have "Professional PHP4" and "PHP developer's cookbook". They are pretty good as reference.

**arunkumar** · Jul 26, 2005, 00:18

i will suggest you to read Kevin Yanks and php.net is where you can have every thing ...........

**melchiorus** · Jul 26, 2005, 07:16

The best reference you can possible get is php.net.

**EscapeYourMind** · Jul 26, 2005, 07:46

I agree with the others, the best "book" is by far php.net. That and reading articles around the web, such as sitepoint, devarticles, zend, phpfreaks..etc.

If your looking for programming concepts and techniques with php I'm sure the books listed above would be your best bet, but for pure php nothing beats the manual.

The best way to use php.net is as refference. When you hit a snag and just can not figure out how, for instance, to do something with an array. Check php.net in its array section and take a look at the built in functions and there ussually is one that either will do it for you, or get you a lot closer to your goal.

**Eich** · Jul 26, 2005, 11:08

Before I started learning PHP, I knew absolutly nothing about programming at all. I didn't even know what a variable was, much less for loops and functions.
On PHP net, you don't find statments like
"a variable is a name given to an imaginary box into which any value may be placed." (at least I haven't seen any).
The manuall on Php.net is amazing, but hard to figure if someone is completly new to the whole scripting idea.
You'll find such basic information in Kevin Yanks book among others.
It all depends on the knowledge about both PHP and programming in general the person has.

**321web** · Jul 26, 2005, 12:46

Originally Posted by EscapeYourMind

If your looking for programming concepts and techniques with php I'm sure the books listed above would be your best bet

Isnt that what we are all looking for? Having the nails and lumber is nice, but if you don't have plans and tools you can not build a house.

Also my eyes hurt enough as it is, I dont need to be reading detailed coding information on my monitor. Plus what will I read in the bathroom between monthly maxim deliveries?

**pixelsoul** · Jul 26, 2005, 13:59

I really hated wrox beginning in php 4 actually they, write to much theoritical stuff, i liked sitepoints book better since they gave me solutions which i could use in my own projects while learning..

Originally Posted by mehrdad

Anything by WROX publication is awesome. I started with Beginning PHP 4 and then got Professional PHP 4.
As the guys have mentioned above, php.net is a sweet place to go to as well.

**EscapeYourMind** · Jul 27, 2005, 07:11

Originally Posted by 321web

Isnt that what we are all looking for? Having the nails and lumber is nice, but if you don't have plans and tools you can not build a house.

Also my eyes hurt enough as it is, I dont need to be reading detailed coding information on my monitor. Plus what will I read in the bathroom between monthly maxim deliveries?

Well the original author of this thread said complete overall coverage of the language, and the best place to find that is the manual. However if he was meaning programming concepts as well as everything in the language then the other books combined with the manual is the best bet.

Even still the manual is an invaluable resource.

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