PHP 4 Bible

This book is very good for learning PHP. I have only a small background in JAvaScript and i understodd it perfectly. If you are new to programming, or good at it and want a quick guide to PHP4 I would recomend it

For a beginner PHP developer, this book should be excellent for a start. Although it doesn't cover Oracle or MS SQL related function, it has short tutorial of SQL language; enough for building a dynamic database-driven web sites. I used to use Perl, this book made migrating to PHP simple. I like this book mostly because it explains function's behaviour clearly and list them by category (array functions, string functions, trigonometri function, etc.). It also has troubleshooting section for you to refer if you encounter problems running your script and doesn't understand what php said.

Strong introduction to PHP, MySQL, and related subjects. Very readable. Efficiently written. Doesn't waste your time with unnecessary fluff, but offers occasional dry humor directed at the professional programmer that made me chuckle. Looking forward to future books by this duo. I strongly recommend this book.

PHP Bible (written by Tim Converse and Joyce Park)The book in 32 chapters which are logically structured into three parts:Part I - Basics contains first fifteen chaptersPart II - the very important part dealing with relations of PHP and Databases contains chapters 16 to twenty-fourPart III - Advanced techniques contains last eight chapters of the book.This nice structure is extremely useful in dishing the info to different levels of reader's understanding. While seasoned programmer can just skim the first part it gives plenty of information for newbie, but it refrains from overflooding with unnecessary details. The book is truly building comprehension in manageable doses with clear references to the future "explorations in the field". The only thing I felt as underestimated was the installation of PHP on the Windows, which is basically left on the use of Microsoft's own server products IIS versus PWS, while my explorations in this matter shows that interest in PHP in the Windows community grows steadily with server preferences shifting towards Apache or other servers. At the same time I have to give authors the due credit for putting necessary references straight at the end of the chapter. There are few references missed however, because (for example) the installation of PHP working with an excellent "Sambar" server are actually documented straight in the server's FAQ file and installation should not take more then five minutes even to the greenest of all newbies. .... .The second part of the book is devoted to the databases from the short introduction - through their tremendous impact on the Web data processing ending in long list of all databases supported by PHP. In total agreement with public preferences authors picked MySQL as a database in the focus. Following the short expose to SQL terminology lightly sprinkled with database design we are fast forwarded through the MySQL related functions of PHP and their use in processing the forms and output of database querries. Not only we can find the examples through the whole text, but also we have "real-live" lookalike example in the whole chapter 22. I can only attest that this "twenty-two" makes things really easier to understand in opposition to the infamous "Catch-22" of Yossarian fame.The third part starts with logically the most needed information following the databases - sessions and cookies. Then it goes back to OOP, Security and configuration and tuning of PHP system. The sample code is again supported by excellent explanations, which as in previous chapters are unasuming, informative so the book left me at the end with the feeling of no major question to answer and ultimately with happines which authors (in accordance with the real Bible) were proclaiming through the text. Thus their First rule proclaimed in the chapter 6:"Don't worry, Be happy" supports now my programming confidence and I am sure it will do the same to anybody lucky enough to acquire this book.