I disagree. If you have no programming experience, you will need a structured approach, covering not just the basics, but development themes. That is what you get from a good PHP book, hard- or softcover.kettle_drum wrote:I really dont think you need to fork out to buy a book to learn php. There are plenty of resources online that can teach you everything from installation to image manipulation. I know you say that you dont like reading stuff on the screen - fair enough - but to really learn php you will need to pratice...which will be using a computer and reading off a screen.
Using Google to learn a computer language is very much like trying to learn Russian with a dictionary: you learn words, even phrases, and will, at some point, even be able to compose a couple of sentences. But you will never master the language unless with much greater effort compared to having bought and read a "Learn Russian" book.
If you already know how to program and you know what it's about, by all means, there are plenty of things available on the web which are quite good resources.
Otherwise, a McDonald's guide to PHP isn't viable. But it depends entirely what you want to achieve. To learn PHP properly: go buy a book. To get some script that you don't quite understand to work: use google.