Core PHP Programming: Using PHP to Build Dynamic Web Sites by Leon Atkinson
Published by Prentice Hall.
PHP is the first programming language that I have ever learned. Core PHP Programming was my first book on PHP, and the book is still sitting open on my desk today. Leon Atkinson (the author) uses easy-to-understand explanations and the code examples are virtually bug free. All bugs recognized have been acknowledged and corrected on his personal website www.leonatkinson.com.
The layout of the book is as follows:
It begins overviewing the background what PHP is and where it originates from, and then moves on to cover the basics of its actual use. Further into the book you're reading through a nicely organized reference of built-in functions and how they're used along with some more advanced techniques. Several chapters (such as miscellaneous database functions) can easily be skipped and referred back to on a need-to-know basis.
The only things I would argue about would be:
#1 - The lack of "real-world" code examples, in that each example will show you how it is supposed to work - but how to actually apply it in an actual scenerio application is another story.
#2 - Certain things could have been explained a bit more in depth. You are expected to have a solid knowledge of HTML and at least know the basic syntax of any programming language before reading this book. For example, you should probably know how to distinguish the difference of certain terms such as variable, array, expression etc..
I would highly recommend this book for any beginner to intermediate PHP programmer whether you're just learning, or trying to sharpen your skills. Overall, you will gain a solid understanding of the PHP language and have an excellent reference for the rest of your programming days :-)
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