Where to start to learn PHP?

In article <slrnbhapu0.6gc.no_user DeleteThis @localhost.localdomain>,
no_user DeleteThis @no_particular_domain.com (see above) wrote:

:Try using www.onlamp.com/php for an intro series about PHP and some
:advanced topics. There's plenty of info on the net about learning PHP with
:tons of samples and tutorials and snippets files.

Like the OP I am trying to learn php. I find it interesting to browse
the various tutorials--what one leaves out (probably because they
thought it was too simple to mention?) will be covered in another. The
different angles they come from and the items that they cover in
whatever order are actually helpful. When I feel stumped, I go try
another tutorial. Usually I can find out what I was doing wrong from
that.

:The best way to learn PHP is to install PHP and run some small
:programs...it's actually very easy to learn.

What got me going was when I found that my Mac OS X came with php
installed. No need to even be online...

Best of luck to the OP.

Mary

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 >> Stay informed about: Where to start to learn PHP? 

"Captain Universe" <user.RemoveThis@fakeaddresstopreventspam.edu> wrote in message
news:4TcRa.10710$Vx2.4670525@newssvr28.news.prodigy.com...
 > I would like to learn PHP and would like to know if anyone knows of a good
 > book to start with. I was browsing around Amazon.com and saw that there
are
 > lots of books, I just wondered if one was especially good to start with.
 >
 > I am only vaguely aware of what PHP is fully capable of, so I am quite the
 > beginner. I am somewhat familiar with Perl and Javascript, if that makes a
 > difference. I need something that starts at the VERY beginning.
 >
 > Thanks for any help.
 >
 >


Try "SAMS PHP in 24 hours" and bookmark <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.php.net" target="_blank">http://www.php.net</a><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Where to start to learn PHP? 

Captain Universe wrote:

 > I would like to learn PHP and would like to know if anyone knows of a good
 > book to start with. I was browsing around Amazon.com and saw that there are
 > lots of books, I just wondered if one was especially good to start with.
 >
 > I am only vaguely aware of what PHP is fully capable of, so I am quite the
 > beginner. I am somewhat familiar with Perl and Javascript, if that makes a
 > difference. I need something that starts at the VERY beginning.

You'll definately want to browse through some of these sites:

<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.php.net/" target="_blank">http://www.php.net/</a> - this should always a stop when looking for
something (especially what args and return values for a function!). This
is a very powerful resource because it is fairly well-written, and the
user comments are somewhat moderated.

<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://us4.php.net/tut.php" target="_blank">http://us4.php.net/tut.php</a> - The first tutorial you should read.

The following are a _few_ links to other PHP sites that I have found
useful in the past or have received links to from others just learning
PHP. Some are articles, some tutorials and some script archives.

One thing that really helped me a lot when first learning PHP was
finding scripts that did approximately what I was after and disecting
them. It's always helpful to have example scripts to start working from.
Beware that there are _many_ coding styles out there because PHP
formatting isn't strict like C or *gasp* Fortran. The best thing I
have found on this topic is the PEAR coding standards:
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://pear.php.net/manual/en/standards.php" target="_blank">http://pear.php.net/manual/en/standards.php</a> (even though I don't follow
them completely).

That being said, enjoy:

<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.zend.com/zend/tut/" target="_blank">http://www.zend.com/zend/tut/</a>
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.thesitewizard.com/php/index.shtml" target="_blank">http://www.thesitewizard.com/php/index.shtml</a>
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/programming/php/index.html" target="_blank">http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/programming/php/index.html</a>
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.devshed.com/Server_Side/PHP" target="_blank">http://www.devshed.com/Server_Side/PHP</a>
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.freewebmasterhelp.com/tutorials/php" target="_blank">http://www.freewebmasterhelp.com/tutorials/php</a>
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.freewebmasterhelp.com/tutorials/phpmysql" target="_blank">http://www.freewebmasterhelp.com/tutorials/phpmysql</a>
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.gimpster.com/wiki/PhpTutorial" target="_blank">http://www.gimpster.com/wiki/PhpTutorial</a>
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.phptutorial.info/" target="_blank">http://www.phptutorial.info/</a>
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.phpfreaks.com/" target="_blank">http://www.phpfreaks.com/</a>
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.devarticles.com/cats/9" target="_blank">http://www.devarticles.com/cats/9</a>
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.juicystudio.com/tutorial/php/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.juicystudio.com/tutorial/php/index.html</a>
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.pscode.com/vb/default.asp?lngWId=8" target="_blank">http://www.pscode.com/vb/default.asp?lngWId=8</a>
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.w3schools.com/php/default.asp" target="_blank">http://www.w3schools.com/php/default.asp</a>
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.phpwizard.net/" target="_blank">http://www.phpwizard.net/</a> (Which seems to be down at the moment.)
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.phpioneers.com/" target="_blank">http://www.phpioneers.com/</a>
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://koivi.users.phpclasses.org/" target="_blank">http://koivi.users.phpclasses.org/</a>
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.hotscripts.com/PHP/Scripts_and_Programs/" target="_blank">http://www.hotscripts.com/PHP/Scripts_and_Programs/</a>
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.evilwalrus.com/" target="_blank">http://www.evilwalrus.com/</a>
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://php.weblogs.com/" target="_blank">http://php.weblogs.com/</a>

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 >> Stay informed about: Where to start to learn PHP? 

"Captain Universe" <user DeleteThis @fakeaddresstopreventspam.edu> wrote in message
news:4TcRa.10710$Vx2.4670525@newssvr28.news.prodigy.com...

 > I would like to learn PHP and would like to know if anyone knows of a good
 > book to start with. I was browsing around Amazon.com and saw that there
are
 > lots of books, I just wondered if one was especially good to start with.
 >
 > I am only vaguely aware of what PHP is fully capable of, so I am quite the
 > beginner. I am somewhat familiar with Perl and Javascript, if that makes a
 > difference. I need something that starts at the VERY beginning.

I don't know why people recommend php.net for complete beginners. I don't
think it has much in the way of tutorials.

Do a google for "php tutorial".

I found this a good site for learning about PHP, particularly for connecting
to mySQL:

<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.blazonry.com/scripting/linksdb/index.php" target="_blank">http://www.blazonry.com/scripting/linksdb/index.php</a>

There really is a STACK of info out there, for the want of a little
research!!!
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Charles Sweeney
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 >> Stay informed about: Where to start to learn PHP? 

On Wed, 16 Jul 2003 18:39:39 +0100, Charles Sweeney <me DeleteThis @charlessweeney.com>
wrote:

 > I don't know why people recommend php.net for complete beginners. I
 > don't think it has much in the way of tutorials.

Exactly However, it is the best reference manual for the language I've
ever found.

What to know what preg_match() returns? Want to find the argument order
for strpos()? Want to find the correct syntax for accessing a database?
It's all there as quick as you can type it into the search bar, but it does
assume you know how to program in PHP already.

I suggest getting the PHP Cookbook from O'Reilly, which has hundreds of
ready made scripts organized by function. There will eventually come a
point where you think of what you want to do, turn to the Cookbook and
realize that you already have a good idea about how the task can be
accomplished. At this point, start coding and use <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.php.net" target="_blank">www.php.net</a> exclusively.
For you are now a Jedi.

Grey

--
The technical axiom that nothing is impossible sinisterly implies the
pitfall corollory that nothing is ridiculous.
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management<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Where to start to learn PHP? 

"GreyWyvern" <sp_bhuisman RemoveThis @greywyvern.com_am> wrote in message
news:oprsezsnzlgk3m3d@news.nas.net...
 > On Wed, 16 Jul 2003 18:39:39 +0100, Charles Sweeney
<me RemoveThis @charlessweeney.com>
 > wrote:
 >
  > > I don't know why people recommend php.net for complete beginners. I
  > > don't think it has much in the way of tutorials.
 >
 > Exactly However, it is the best reference manual for the language I've
 > ever found.

Agree.
--
Charles Sweeney
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.CharlesSweeney.com" target="_blank">www.CharlesSweeney.com</a><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Where to start to learn PHP? 

Captain,

One of my favorite books is "PHP and MySQL Web Development by Thomson &
Welling"
Very informative and put me right on my way.

Eric Haskins
RackSPEED.Net
WebHosting from 4.99/month

"Captain Universe" <user.DeleteThis@fakeaddresstopreventspam.edu> wrote in message
news:4TcRa.10710$Vx2.4670525@newssvr28.news.prodigy.com...
 > I would like to learn PHP and would like to know if anyone knows of a good
 > book to start with. I was browsing around Amazon.com and saw that there
are
 > lots of books, I just wondered if one was especially good to start with.
 >
 > I am only vaguely aware of what PHP is fully capable of, so I am quite the
 > beginner. I am somewhat familiar with Perl and Javascript, if that makes a
 > difference. I need something that starts at the VERY beginning.
 >
 > Thanks for any help.
 >
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Where to start to learn PHP? 

On Wed, 16 Jul 2003 13:59:28 GMT, Captain Universe
<user.RemoveThis@fakeaddresstopreventspam.edu> wrote:

 > I would like to learn PHP and would like to know if anyone knows of a
 > good
 > book to start with.

I've ordered from Amazon:
PHP and MySQL Web Development, Second Edition [Paperback] By: Luke Welling,
Laura Thomson

A friend bought it in at McGill's (Brisbane, Aus) and says it looks a good
one. The reviews are in the 4 and 5 stars so here's hoping.


Adrian Appleyard
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.Nameplace.com.au/" target="_blank">http://www.Nameplace.com.au/</a>

{ affordable domains + quality hosting }<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Where to start to learn PHP? 

Justin Koivisto wrote:
 > That being said, enjoy:
 >
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.zend.com/zend/tut/</font" target="_blank">http://www.zend.com/zend/tut/</font</a>>
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.thesitewizard.com/php/index.shtml</font" target="_blank">http://www.thesitewizard.com/php/index.shtml</font</a>>
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/programming/php/index.html</font" target="_blank">http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/programming/php/index.html</font</a>>
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.devshed.com/Server_Side/PHP</font" target="_blank">http://www.devshed.com/Server_Side/PHP</font</a>>
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.freewebmasterhelp.com/tutorials/php</font" target="_blank">http://www.freewebmasterhelp.com/tutorials/php</font</a>>
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.freewebmasterhelp.com/tutorials/phpmysql</font" target="_blank">http://www.freewebmasterhelp.com/tutorials/phpmysql</font</a>>
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.gimpster.com/wiki/PhpTutorial</font" target="_blank">http://www.gimpster.com/wiki/PhpTutorial</font</a>>
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.phptutorial.info/</font" target="_blank">http://www.phptutorial.info/</font</a>>
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.phpfreaks.com/</font" target="_blank">http://www.phpfreaks.com/</font</a>>
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.devarticles.com/cats/9</font" target="_blank">http://www.devarticles.com/cats/9</font</a>>
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.juicystudio.com/tutorial/php/index.html</font" target="_blank">http://www.juicystudio.com/tutorial/php/index.html</font</a>>
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.pscode.com/vb/default.asp?lngWId=8</font" target="_blank">http://www.pscode.com/vb/default.asp?lngWId=8</font</a>>
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.w3schools.com/php/default.asp</font" target="_blank">http://www.w3schools.com/php/default.asp</font</a>>
 > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.phpwizard.net/" target="_blank">http://www.phpwizard.net/</a> (Which seems to be down at the moment.)
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.phpioneers.com/</font" target="_blank">http://www.phpioneers.com/</font</a>>
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://koivi.users.phpclasses.org/</font" target="_blank">http://koivi.users.phpclasses.org/</font</a>>
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.hotscripts.com/PHP/Scripts_and_Programs/</font" target="_blank">http://www.hotscripts.com/PHP/Scripts_and_Programs/</font</a>>
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.evilwalrus.com/</font" target="_blank">http://www.evilwalrus.com/</font</a>>
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://php.weblogs.com/</font" target="_blank">http://php.weblogs.com/</font</a>>

Looks like you got into brucie's links vault. )<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Where to start to learn PHP? 

On Wed, 16 Jul 2003 22:24:40 GMT, Adrian Appleyard
<adrian.DeleteThis@remove-nameplace.com.au> wrote:

 >On Wed, 16 Jul 2003 13:59:28 GMT, Captain Universe
 ><user.DeleteThis@fakeaddresstopreventspam.edu> wrote:
 >
  >> I would like to learn PHP and would like to know if anyone knows of a
  >> good
  >> book to start with.
 >
 >I've ordered from Amazon:
 >PHP and MySQL Web Development, Second Edition [Paperback] By: Luke Welling,
 >Laura Thomson
 >
 >A friend bought it in at McGill's (Brisbane, Aus) and says it looks a good
 >one. The reviews are in the 4 and 5 stars so here's hoping.
 >
 >
 >Adrian Appleyard
 >http://www.Nameplace.com.au/
 >
 > { affordable domains + quality hosting }

I bought that one and have hardly looked at it. While I was waiting
for it to arrive I installed phpLinks which has just enough errors to
get you started with php debugging ; ) And it's so much quicker to
search online than find the answers in the book.

Not perfect and not finished but the result can be seen at
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.alpujarraconect.com/Las_Alpujarras_Web_Directory/" target="_blank">http://www.alpujarraconect.com/Las_Alpujarras_Web_Directory/</a>

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 >> Stay informed about: Where to start to learn PHP? 

On Wed, 16 Jul 2003 19:38:50 +0100, "Charles Sweeney" <me DeleteThis @charlessweeney.com> wrote:

  >"GreyWyvern" <sp_bhuisman DeleteThis @greywyvern.com_am> wrote in message
  >news:oprsezsnzlgk3m3d@news.nas.net...
   >> On Wed, 16 Jul 2003 18:39:39 +0100, Charles Sweeney
  ><me DeleteThis @charlessweeney.com>
   >> wrote:
   >>
    >> > I don't know why people recommend php.net for complete beginners. I
    >> > don't think it has much in the way of tutorials.
   >>
   >> Exactly However, it is the best reference manual for the language I've
   >> ever found.
  >
  >Agree.
I disagree.
php.net may indeed contain the full monty, but it also carries examples from forum
contributors in their "User Contributed Notes" which are subsequently show to be incorrect
or incomplete. The last is not what I would expect of a home site for a language,
utility, program, whatever.
Pull the pins out to reply direct.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Where to start to learn PHP? 

On Thu, 17 Jul 2003 13:07:16 +0100, <FatBlokeOnBikepins@pinsmother-
truckers.co.uk> wrote:

   >>> Exactly However, it is the best reference manual for the language
   >>> I've ever found.
  >>
  >> Agree.
 >
 > I disagree. php.net may indeed contain the full monty, but it also
 > carries examples from forum
 > contributors in their "User Contributed Notes" which are subsequently
 > show to be incorrect
 > or incomplete. The last is not what I would expect of a home site for a
 > language,
 > utility, program, whatever.
 > Pull the pins out to reply direct.

As much as the user contributed notes might give out a few incorrect
answers at times - and by definition they *are* user contributed notes and
should be taken with a grain of salt anyway - they also give out valuable
workarounds, tricks and functions which would take a new or average user
forever to figure out.

More than once I've encountered a problem while using a certain function in
a certain way and having it fail, then finding the answer in the user
contributed notes. Because chances are, someone out there has already had
the same problem you're having, and found a way to fix it.

I've posted a few notes of my own, and have had no less than three emails
of gratitude from people who found just the answer they were looking for
from one of my posts. So people *do* use them, and to good effect.

And finally, the user contributed notes are moderated (ie, scanned
regularily for trolls or incorrect and incomplete information) which keeps
the FUD factor you're worrying about low and the information value high.

Grey

--
The technical axiom that nothing is impossible sinisterly implies the
pitfall corollory that nothing is ridiculous.
- <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.greywyvern.com" target="_blank">http://www.greywyvern.com</a> - Orca RingMaker: PHP web ring creation and
management<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Where to start to learn PHP? 

Wipkip wrote:
 > Justin Koivisto wrote:
 >
  >>That being said, enjoy:
  >>
  >>http://www.zend.com/zend/tut/
  >>http://www.thesitewizard.com/php/index.shtml
  >>http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/programming/php/index.html
  >>http://www.devshed.com/Server_Side/PHP
  >>http://www.freewebmasterhelp.com/tutorials/php
  >>http://www.freewebmasterhelp.com/tutorials/phpmysql
  >>http://www.gimpster.com/wiki/PhpTutorial
  >>http://www.phptutorial.info/
  >>http://www.phpfreaks.com/
  >>http://www.devarticles.com/cats/9
  >>http://www.juicystudio.com/tutorial/php/index.html
  >>http://www.pscode.com/vb/default.asp?lngWId=8
  >>http://www.w3schools.com/php/default.asp
  >>http://www.phpwizard.net/ (Which seems to be down at the moment.)
  >>http://www.phpioneers.com/
  >>http://koivi.users.phpclasses.org/
  >>http://www.hotscripts.com/PHP/Scripts_and_Programs/
  >>http://www.evilwalrus.com/
  >>http://php.weblogs.com/
 >
 >
 > Looks like you got into brucie's links vault. )
 >
 >

No, I just haven't been using mine here yet.

--
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PHP POSTERS: Please use comp.lang.php for PHP related questions,
alt.php* groups are not recommended.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Where to start to learn PHP?