A good resource?

[Makaveli]

Does anyone know any good books or online tutorials for php?

[Josh]

There are a couple of good books on PHP. The two that come to mind are "Professional PHP Programming" and "Core PHP Programming."

[vbsquare]

I'll soon have PHP Pocket Reference (O'Reilly) and Developing Web Applications with PHP. I'll let you know how they do.

[Menno]

All I can recomend is the manual on PHP.net

no matter how you twist and turn, it's still the best resource.

[Makaveli]

Originally posted by Menno
All I can recomend is the manual on PHP.net

no matter how you twist and turn, it's still the best resource.

Yea, I'd have to agree with you on that.

[vbsquare]

I just got the PHP Pocket Reference this morning, and looks pretty handy. Shame about the size though - you have to bend the pages to read it all!

[Aaron]

A MUST READ...

Sitepoint.com has an awesome tutorial on building database driven websites, it'll teach ya the basics of php and mysql and much much more, check it out here.

If your looking for a good book on the basics of php4, I recently bought a book called "Teach yourself php4 in 24 hours" and it helped me out a bit with a few questions I had on things beyond the scope of the sitepoint tutorial.

The manual on php.net is pretty good, but its really targeted at people with past programming experience. Anyway, hope some of this helps.

[Menno]

Everybody thinks php/mysql programs are an enigma. They really aren't
What it comes down to is a bunc of SQL queries, and routines to handle those queries

[Aaron]

Thats true Menno, but some people prefer to flip the lightswitch instead of bumping through the darkness. While it is possible to learn php/mysql from the work of others, and sometimes figuring out something for yourself teaches you things that a good book or tutorial can't, the purpose of the books and tutorials is to facilitate the learning process. Not only do you learn faster, but you also learn how to program efficiently so that your scripts accomplish the task in the best way possible.

Anyway, I didn't intend to get preachy or anything, just pointing out the other side of the story. I agree that their isn't a whole lot to php programming, and I've done my fair share of hacking my way through things. I've just learned that things are a lot easier if I pick my head up, take a look at my surroundings, and choose the path of least resistance.