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Best PHP5 OOP Books
Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2006 7:47 pm
by DaveTheAve
I wish to purchase a few books covering PHP5's OOP, and place a few on the x-mass wish list. Problem is, I don't know which ones to get. I'll confess I'm not the type to read a book, normally I'll glance through them and read only the interesting stuff but they are really nice to have around for whatever reasons.
I was looking at
Object-Oriented PHP: Concepts, Techniques, and Code but I wish to get feedback on books this wonderful community recognizes as the "best-of-the-best".
Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2006 12:58 am
by jmut
Well IMHO the story is double sided.
First you need to learn what is the OOP syntax in PHP. Manual is great for that....and I assume you are already familiar with it.
Everything else is concepts, way of thinking etc. So searching OOP in any programming language (that you can read...and easily translate to php - usually java) should be fine...
Having said that

here are books I would recommend in no particular order:
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Code Complete, Second Edition
Highly recommend this book. Probably will not read it in one breath...but a lot of good practices could be taken from here. Although not particularly dedicated to OOP I still believe every so called programmer should read it.
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PHP 5 Objects, Patterns, and Practice
Nice book to see php examples and patterns applied in php. Highly recommend.
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Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture
Most design patterns are described here. Examples in Java. A lot said in this forum about it.. Definately a must. One read will usually not do. Practice everything you read. Some patterns will just not make sense in PHP world but still mind openining.
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Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software
Yet another design patterns book. Revealling some other design patterns not mentioned in PoEAA.
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Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code
Well this goes hand in hand with OOP...you will need to refactor/improve the quality of your code.
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Test Driven Development: By Example
Refactoring is much pleasent to do when testing your code. Gives you a LOT of confidence you did not break anything working.
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Domain-Driven Design: Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software
Really good book about how you should think in OOP models...title suggests what it is about.
Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2006 7:45 am
by DaveTheAve
Thank you JMut, I'll see to it I get a few of your mentioned books to read/study.
Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2006 10:07 am
by Luke
I can also highly recommend PHP 5: Objects, Patterns, and Practice by Matt Zandstra (jmut's 2nd book listed). It is a good introduction to design patterns as well as intermediate/advanced php 5 in general.
Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2006 5:28 pm
by DaveTheAve
I'm ordering PHP 5 Objects, Patterns, and Practice now thanks. I'll most likely order more in the future, but thats all for now. Oh, and The Ninja Space Goat: I refuse to eat my own hands.