Question: Learning Php -- Where Do I Start?

Answer: You face a hard dilema. like other computer codes, Php is very complicated. I would reccomend HTML. It is easier, and although you can't do as much with it, I think you should master the code HTML first. Well... actually if you are trying to learn Php then you have probably already mastered HTML. If not, however, then try HTML. But if you already did I don't know what you can do. I am no position to give advice, really, because I don't know PHP.

I agree that you need to know HTML first, otherwise PHP has no use, PHP runs in the background, a user will never "see" php they will only see the HTML code on the website and the PHP runs in the background out of sight. But id disagree that PHP is hard to learn. I think its rather simple to learn, many of the functions are easy to recognise eg "strlen" is "String Length" and it counts the number f characters in a string. "echo" simple 'echos' text out to the browser etc...

The hardest thing abut programming is learning program flow eg variables, events, logic gates etc.. but one you have understood them for one language you will easily adapt for another.

And i think that if youre planning any sort of website thats above the "personal/picture" level, such as a commercial website or a gaming related one or anything that contains more then just a few pictures, then you will need to learn PHP. HTML is the backbone of the internet, but PHP and other web languages are like the muscles, they allow the backbone to move abut and add flexibility and support to it. Without PHP you would never be able to create a forum like this one, never have the shoutbox above, many on-line sites rely on php like those with the "page.php?content=something" web addresses.

All in all its a fantastic thing for any web coder/web master to know as it allows interactivity on the web.

Hello there, i am looking for any good books or website that offer a complete education on php, If anyone knows of any let me know. Thanks

Heh there is no books that offer complete education on PHP. There are just too many things to cover in just one book you may end up buying 1-2. I got one book about 2 years ago it was ok but not the best. I still use it for reference because I prefer reading pages then screen. I think the closest thing would be the php manual at www.php.net but if your new it might seem hard to understand just reading form php.net so thats where books are good for beginners. It starts off easy and gets more complex as you progress through the chapters teaching you what/how to use PHP.

I think buying a book would be a better option as you can read it anytime without needing a computer right there to learn. But you have to be careful because some books are just junk. i.e they contain really weak material to learn from so spending $100 dollars on it(thats roughly how much books cost here) ainit worth it. What i usally do before buying any text is go out and try and read though all the books I can. Its kinda hard to see what each book is all about so if you have an idea of what your looking for it helps alot. After looking through all the books on the subject I decide on one that I think would best suit me. Most of the time after I progress I find the book hasnt really got enough material or examples so I try not to buy any books unless I have to now.

The way I learned to code in PHP is somewhat strange... Being a programmer already, I thought I would just jump right in, and start writing code in PHP... But it was rather different than anything I worked in... So, I started making example pages... First, a simple static page, using PHP... Then, I worked my way up, always reading on the functions regarding the area I was making that sample page for... It kind of payed off in the long run... But books are precious...

I would suggest going through "PHP5 + MySQL Bible", I think Wrox is the publisher... I think O'Reilly has one too... Check out Sams Publishing as well... What you should do is go on a publishers site, find the book you want, and read the sample chapters, just to see if it will fit your needs, andthen go out and by it... And, you can always skim through the book in the book shop, at least here they let us read a bit, and see if the book is indeed what we're looking for...

And never forget the wonderful world of the Internet... You can find many, many good tutorials for PHP, most of them free... Try W3C Schools ofr example, they were very helpful to me, when I was learning... Heck, I'm still learning it

I think what most people dont realise or notice is making webpages isnt jsut about PHP or just about HTML. When I first started to learn html and I found bout about javascript i was like wtf do i need this for lol. After realizing you can do fancy things without combining them all, I'm doing catchup trying to learn everything all at once. You have to understand HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP/ASP/CGI/Pearl/CF or what ever else server side scripting language there is, then there is a database for long term storage of information. You have to understand these languages to a high degree if you want to make some very good/complex sites. What I'm trying to say is web development can be a pain in the *bottom* if you want to make very good looking and complex sites. If you are serisouly about learning be warned it can be a very long process. To add to that lol there is also the issue of broswers not rendering pages alike. Sometimes will work fine on one broswer then not at all on another. I'm not trying to scare anyone away from learning web development its an interesting area as theres always new things coming out. With so much information out there its almost impossible to keep up with everyting dealing wtih WWW. But the core languages you will want to learn is XHTML, Javascript, CSS, MySQL, and a sever side scripting language PHP/ASP/what ever ... not just PHP.

When I find very good books on XHTML, CSS, Javascript I would probably invest in gettimg them personally for reference as I prefer paper material over screen. I know there are alot out there but most arnt that great as you would expect so be careful and take your time before you buy.

I went to the library ones and looked up some books. Unfortunatly al those books were so boring!
They looked like they were from WO2! It was just text and text and text and so on......
Maby I should go and look again, long time since I have been in the library

Greetzz

I've started learning it too These are a few of the websites I've used:

1. <a href='http://www.tizag.com/phpT/'>[x]</a>
2. <a href='http://www.php-mysql-tutorial.com/'>[x]</a>
3. <a href='http://www.php.net/tut.php'>[x]</a>
4. <a href='http://www.w3schools.com/PHP/DEfaULT.asP'>[x]</a>

I'd highly advise you look at a variety of websites. Different websites have different ways of explaining.