Good PHP books
  • CedricCedric
    I would like to learn PHP and am looking for some good PHP books to start with. I would like to know which books are the best and why?
  • avinashavinash
    PHP and MySQL Web Development is a good book which goes deep into developing web applications.

    I also find PHP in Action: Objects, Design, Agility quite interesting. The focus is less on developing web apps or websites and more on learning and using PHP as a "real" object-oriented programming language. This book made me realise that PHP5 is somewhat close to Java for instance...

    After reading those two books, I would say that reading a book on a PHP framework is important. For example, Zend Framework, A Beginner's Guide is a good book on Zend Framework created by the same people who develop PHP. Of course, other frameworks (e.g. CakePHP, Yii, Recess, etc.) are also worth reading about.
  • BinaBina
    There is a sale going on during this month on Sitepoint. The books look quite interesting. You will find books on PHP, Javascript, Jquery, HTML5, CSS, etc. The prices are rather good too. Here is the link: http://www.sitepoint.com/sale
  • loganlogan
    Another good book is Essential PHP Security. I think it's important if you're building e-commerce websites:http://phpsecurity.org/
  • bakenoorbakenoor
    Well, so start with, I think you can try http://www.w3schools.com/ for a first overview, try things from there. Although, it is less good than many books, i really believe it can help you to start
  • BinaBina
    I agree with bakenoor. w3schools.com is great to start with. http://www.tizag.com/phpT/ is quite good too.
  • CedricCedric
    I've actually learned HTML and CSS on w3schools but I think a book will go more in depth. But i must admit that w3schools can be a good reference.
  • navindjnavindj
    @ Cedric- You can check this online link...absolute beginner..http://sourcecodemania.com/php-tutorial-for-beginners/ ..enjoy coding php ;)
  • navindjnavindj
    of course all links for learning are good..but if you get a good coach would be much more better
  • nadimnadim
    @Bakenoor, @Bina, and @Cedric. Please try to check http://w3fools.com/. And not to be biased, please read also http://aspektas.com/blog/w3fools-a-foolish-attack-on-w3schoolscom/
  • avinashavinash
    Thanks @nadim.

    I think websites are great to read about new technologies and techniques. But nothing beats actually doing those things e.g. designing a website from scratch using W3C-compliant and semantic HTML(5) and CSS(3). This is where one really learns about the enormous gap between theory and practice :-)
  • nadimnadim
    101% correct. Dealing with compliant browsers vs IE is the most tedious work for a front-end developer.

    Also, i'll recommend everyone (especially newbies) to forget about WYSIWYG editors (Frontpage - still exists ? - Dreamweaver, etc). Hand-code your (x)HTML(5) / CSS(3). Use notepad or vi (well you have other editors in Windows / Linux, but the point is HAND-CODING). True web developers hand-code (this is important for SEO, remember)
  • shaneshane
    Yep, WYSIWYG editors are not the way to go. You should be crafting semantic markup first, then applying CSS to do the layout. A WYSIWYG tool would encourage a workflow that's the opposite of what you should be doing.
  • avinashavinash
    If you need to transform an image into a webpage i.e. slicing, this is relatively well supported in The Gimp:

    * Use guides to define the various parts of your image (see http://docs.gimp.org/en/gimp-concepts-image-guides.html)
    * Use the slice plugin to slice the image along the guides (see http://docs.gimp.org/en/python-fu-slice.html)

    The slice plugin will create small images as well as an HTML file using a TABLE to include the images. This is not as good as using DIVs and CSS but it's good enough. One can then replace the "dummy text" sections with real text directly within the . Of course, nothing prevents someone from using CSS to style the text.

    Of course, at this point, someone conversant with CSS can relatively easily transform the TABLE based layout into something more standards-compliant.
  • nadimnadim
    See my comments here: http://www.knowledge7.com/forum/discussion/5/top-ten-apps-that-make-linux-fun-to-use#Item_6
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