In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Minardi Boy) wrote:
> I've downloaded the manual at
> php.net but this wasn't very satisfying as I really don't like reading lots
> of complicated stuff on the screen of my laptop.
Then print it. No kidding. I'm all for conserving paper, but this is no
waste. The PHP manual--*with annotations*--is a very good introduction to
PHP. IMO, far too many people try to get by w/o reading the manual, then
end up spending hours or days struggling with something that would have
taken them seconds or minutes if they'd read the manual through.
A printout gives you get the best of both worlds: scribble notes all over
the printout, while doing copy/pastes of the code snippets of the user
annotations from the online version.
> Are there any books you guys/gals could recommend? Are there (non
> university/school) classes (satisfactory)?
Julie Meloni has two good intro-level books. Many people seem to like the
Wrox book as well. PHP.net has a list of other books (I believe there's a
link from <http://php.net/support.php>). Pick whichever one you're most
comfortable with.
As to courses, any generalized intro-to-programming should be helpful for
understanding concepts & terminology common to PHP and every other
programming language.
You mention an interest in databases. If you're using MySQL (which you
should, at least while you're learning, since virtually every PHP tutorial
for databases uses MySQL as its DBMS), the essential MySQL
tutorial/reference book IMO is Paul DuBois' "MySQL" from New Riders. It
even has a chapter devoted to using MySQL with PHP.
Caveat: do not expect to "learn databases" from any PHP reference.
Database concepts, the SQL language, and the peculiarities (features,
functions, syntax) of your DBMS are all big, important topics requiring a
dedicated text of their own.
My recommendations:
The PHP.net manual, plus any online or printed PHP tutorial of your choice.
If you're planning to work with databases, add any standard intro to
database concepts and SQL, plus the manual for your chosen DBMS.
Good luck!
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