Learning PHP 5

Book Description

PHP has gained a following among non-technical web designers who need to add interactive aspects to their sites. Offering a gentle learning curve, PHP is an accessible yet powerful language for creating dynamic web pages. As its popularity has grown, PHP's basic feature set has become increasingly more sophisticated. Now PHP 5 boasts advanced features--such as new object-oriented capabilities and support for XML and Web Services--that will please even the most experienced web professionals while still remaining user-friendly enough for those with a lower tolerance for technical jargon. If you've wanted to try your hand at PHP but haven't known where to start, then Learning PHP 5 is the book you need. If you've wanted to try your hand at PHP but haven't known where to start, then Learning PHP 5 is the book you need. With attention to both PHP 4 and the new PHP version 5, it provides everything from a explanation of how PHP works with your web server and web browser to the ins and outs of working with databases and HTML forms. Written by the co-author of the popular PHP Cookbook, this book is for intelligent (but not necessarily highly-technical) readers. Learning PHP 5 guides you through every aspect of the language you'll need to master for professional web programming results. This book provides a hands-on learning experience complete with exercises to make sure the lessons stick. Learning PHP 5 covers the following topics, and more:

• How PHP works with your web browser and web server
• PHP language basics, including data, variables, logic and looping
• Working with arrays and functions
• Making web forms
• Working with databases like MySQL
• Remembering users with sessions
• Parsing and generating XML
• Debugging

Written by David Sklar, coauthor of the PHP Cookbook and an instructor in PHP, this book offers the ideal classroom learning experience whether you're in a classroom or on your own. From learning how to install PHP to designing database-backed web applications, Learning PHP 5 will guide you through every aspect of the language you'll need to master to achieve professional web programming results. /p>

Reviews From AMAZON.COM

Begin here

This was my beginning in php programming and I ended up making dynamic websites running with MySQL plus SQLite. The book starts easy and progresses from there, nicely written.
It is easy to use, read and if you have a genuine interest in learning (not buying the book and think that qualifies to then know) it is a great book. I was a complete beginner in PHP when I started with this book and now I can do pretty nifty things thanks to it, so I will say it is well suited for beginners.

Learning is permanent

Self-training is a must these days, and this book has, at this stage of my life, greatly contributed to enlarge my knowledge into a programming language almost unknown to me until now.