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An *Ultimate* PHP reference

Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2003 11:58 am
by nigma
If any of you have done any C programming then you most likely have heard of the K&R book. Can any of you recommend a PHP book that is to php what K&R is to C?

Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2003 12:21 pm
by nielsene
The PHP Manual is the analog of the K&R book.

Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2003 12:23 pm
by nigma
Any other recommendations ;)?

Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2003 11:38 pm
by Bill H
I found the PHP Black Book by Peter Moulding (Coriolis Publishing) very informative and useful.

Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2003 10:52 am
by macewan
second what Bill H said

my first php book was php essentials by Julie C. Meloni.

you'll probably also want to pickup a mysql book while your at it.

Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2003 11:17 am
by nigma
Yea, right now I have Learn PHP 4 in 24 hrs, but once the official non-beta of PHP 5 comes out I plan on getting a new book. I will probably get an updated version of the PHP Blackbook if they come out with one?

Thanks for the suggestions.

Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2003 6:11 pm
by qads
year 2001, i went to my local pc books store and chose a book on php at random...since then i never ever brought another book :lol:

and that book was "php bible" by joyce park, i think they have the 2nd edition out so you may pick that up (don't forgot to pay :P )

Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2003 1:54 am
by nigma
Should I wait for PHP 5 to be released before buying a PHP book(so I could get a book that has info on PHP5 functions)?

Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2003 12:23 pm
by qads
not a bad idea, untill then u can do few tutorials on net to get the basics :D.

Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2003 12:46 pm
by nielsene
Hmm I don't know. PHP5 won't be released officially for many months to come. I wouldn't want a book that comes out before as it might get some details wrong. I wouldn't want one that comes out at the shortly after the release unless it was written by a core member of the zend team for the same reason.

PHP4 will be with us for a while. ISP's are slow to upgrade. Getting a good book on PHP4 now will serve you well for the next 12 months at least.

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2003 1:53 pm
by m3rajk
there's still servers below 4.1.0......(read in basic. i forget who it is, someone in belgium and there's using 4.0.6)...i think that means that for all practical purposes, 5 will have to prove that it's stable and safe before hosting companies and big businesses upgrade

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2003 10:26 pm
by fractalvibes
My favorite so far is a Wrox book,
Professional PHP Programing - has a nice list of functions also.

fv

Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2003 9:43 am
by nielsene
I'm not sure what nigma is asking for. The ultimate reference/the anlog of C's K&R would be the PHP Manual. If you're looking for a more teaching oriented book, or a more case study oriented book, that's not an "Ultimate Reference" book.

On the teaching/learning side, I'll agree that the PHP4 Bible by Joyce and Converse is good. On the case study/example side Wrox had some good books -- Professional PHP Programming and their book on Web Application, (can't remember the title, but it went through creating several different websites and CMS systems.)

Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2003 2:08 pm
by Sinnix
fractalvibes wrote:My favorite so far is a Wrox book,
Professional PHP Programing - ...
Cheers to that. Me too.