PHP Book Recommendations

[Jeffrey Silverman]

Hi all. I am going to be teaching an introductory, course on PHP.
As this course has not been offered before, there are no existing
materials or list of resources for me to choose from. This is a Good
Thing(TM) because I get to do Whatever I Want(TM) as far as choosing
course materials goes.

So here's the questions:

What PHP books do you like?
Why do you like them?
What expertise range is targeted by the particular book(s) you have
mentioned?
What books do you really *not* like and why? (just as useful info as
knowing which books are popular is knowing which are *un*popular)
What other PHP resources have you used and why?

Keep in mind that I am just feeling out the PHP community for opinions. If
in fact there *is* a PHP community.

Thanks, all...
--
Jeffrey D. Silverman | jeffrey AT jhu DOT edu
Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, MD
Website | http://www.wse.jhu.edu/newtnotes/

[Cal Lidderdale]

Re: PHP Book Recommendations

Jeffrey Silverman wrote:[color=blue]
> Hi all. I am going to be teaching an introductory, course on PHP.
> As this course has not been offered before, there are no existing
> materials or list of resources for me to choose from. This is a Good
> Thing(TM) because I get to do Whatever I Want(TM) as far as choosing
> course materials goes.
>
> So here's the questions:
>
> What PHP books do you like?
> Why do you like them?
> What expertise range is targeted by the particular book(s) you have
> mentioned?
> What books do you really *not* like and why? (just as useful info as
> knowing which books are popular is knowing which are *un*popular)
> What other PHP resources have you used and why?
>
> Keep in mind that I am just feeling out the PHP community for opinions. If
> in fact there *is* a PHP community.
>
> Thanks, all...[/color]

You can kill 2 boid's with one stone.

I like "PHP and MySQL Web Development" by Luke Welling & Laura Thomson
ccn - 99-64841 The examples are numerous and executeable - they really
really work - 860 pages, 14 lbs and way too much money - think I just
describe every puter book on the shelf :-(.

... resources ...: this NG, http://forums.devshed.com/forumdisplay.php and

https://www.php.net

.... my description of the elephant ;-)

[Manuel Lemos]

Re: PHP Book Recommendations

Hello,

On 10/08/2003 05:38 PM, Jeffrey Silverman wrote:[color=blue]
> Hi all. I am going to be teaching an introductory, course on PHP.
> As this course has not been offered before, there are no existing
> materials or list of resources for me to choose from. This is a Good
> Thing(TM) because I get to do Whatever I Want(TM) as far as choosing
> course materials goes.
>
> So here's the questions:
>
> What PHP books do you like?
> Why do you like them?
> What expertise range is targeted by the particular book(s) you have
> mentioned?
> What books do you really *not* like and why? (just as useful info as
> knowing which books are popular is knowing which are *un*popular)
> What other PHP resources have you used and why?
>
> Keep in mind that I am just feeling out the PHP community for opinions. If
> in fact there *is* a PHP community.[/color]

You can find here plenty of recommended PHP books that were already
reviewed:

http://www.phpclasses.org/products.html

--

Regards,
Manuel Lemos

Free ready to use OOP components written in PHP

http://www.phpclasses.org/

[Eric Kincl]

Re: PHP Book Recommendations

Cal Lidderdale wrote:
[color=blue]
> Jeffrey Silverman wrote:[color=green]
>> Hi all. I am going to be teaching an introductory, course on PHP.
>> As this course has not been offered before, there are no existing
>> materials or list of resources for me to choose from. This is a Good
>> Thing(TM) because I get to do Whatever I Want(TM) as far as choosing
>> course materials goes.
>>
>> So here's the questions:
>>
>> What PHP books do you like?
>> Why do you like them?
>> What expertise range is targeted by the particular book(s) you have
>> mentioned?
>> What books do you really *not* like and why? (just as useful info as
>> knowing which books are popular is knowing which are *un*popular)
>> What other PHP resources have you used and why?
>>
>> Keep in mind that I am just feeling out the PHP community for opinions.
>> If in fact there *is* a PHP community.
>>
>> Thanks, all...[/color]
>
> You can kill 2 boid's with one stone.
>
> I like "PHP and MySQL Web Development" by Luke Welling & Laura Thomson
> ccn - 99-64841 The examples are numerous and executeable - they really
> really work - 860 pages, 14 lbs and way too much money - think I just
> describe every puter book on the shelf :-(.
>
> .. resources ...: this NG, http://forums.devshed.com/forumdisplay.php and
> www.php.net
>
> ... my description of the elephant ;-)[/color]

I'm using Mastering PHP 4.1 by Jeremy Allen and Charles Hornberger (old yea,
I'm sure theres a new ver) ISBN 0-7821-2924-2. This ones only 700 pages...
wow... a shorty. LOL. Its good though, has a pretty good section on SQL
queries, including the basics of JOINS and all the rules of normalization.
Which book you get depends on how much you want to teach. If you are in
the San Fransisco area, stop by Stacy's (spelling?) book store. It is
famous for tech books. *drools* MMmmmm... tech books.....


-Eric Kincl

[Default User]

Re: PHP Book Recommendations

Jeffrey Silverman wrote:[color=blue]
>
> Hi all. I am going to be teaching an introductory, course on PHP.
> As this course has not been offered before, there are no existing
> materials or list of resources for me to choose from. This is a Good
> Thing(TM) because I get to do Whatever I Want(TM) as far as choosing
> course materials goes.[/color]


There are a few book reviews at accu.org, not nearly the number as for
the more established languages. However, you may want to read them over.

http://accu.org/bookreviews/public/reviews/0sb/php.htm

Brian Rodenborn

[Jeffrey Silverman]

Re: PHP Book Recommendations

On Wed, 08 Oct 2003 18:30:19 -0300, Manuel Lemos wrote:

<anip!>[color=blue]
> http://www.phpclasses.org/products.html[/color]

Thanks Manuel. I actually did go to your site for a bit.

Can I recommend a rating system of some kind for your book reviews? The
fact that there are reviews is great. However, sometimes the reviews felt
a bit on the fluff side or were hard to digest and assimilate from the
standpoint of trying to make a decision like the one I need to make.

Something like
Ratings (or Summary or similar)
Expertise level: beginner/intermediate/advanced
Readability: 1-5 stars
Examples: 1-5 stars
Errors: 1-5 stars (I've noticed a lot of books have typos and whatnot.
More stars would mean less typos or something like that)
Overall: 1-5 stars

Something along those lines. People on the web and using the web expect
these instant summaries, and they can be useful.

just my 2 cents. later...
--
Jeffrey D. Silverman | jeffrey AT jhu DOT edu
Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, MD
Website | http://www.wse.jhu.edu/newtnotes/

[Ian.H]

Re: PHP Book Recommendations

On Wed, 08 Oct 2003 17:38:20 -0400, Jeffrey Silverman wrote:
[color=blue]
> Hi all. I am going to be teaching an introductory, course on PHP. As this
> course has not been offered before, there are no existing materials or
> list of resources for me to choose from. This is a Good Thing(TM) because
> I get to do Whatever I Want(TM) as far as choosing course materials goes.
>
> So here's the questions:
>
> What PHP books do you like?[/color]


The one and only <http://uk.php.net/> ;)

5 and a bit years down the line.. and I've still never opened the page of
a dead tree PHP publication.

[color=blue]
> Why do you like them?[/color]


Has _the_ best function search engine I've ever seen.. most certainly
on-par with Perls' perldoc IMO. With user contributions too, you also get
a feel for the "real world" (take or leave the contributions.. I'm sure
not all are from "expert coders").

[color=blue]
> What expertise range is targeted by the particular book(s) you have
> mentioned?[/color]


From beginner to advanced.

Tbh, now I mainly use the site as a "quick reference" for things as I've
spent enough time now that "the basics" come naturally.. but I'll never
know all (or nearly all) of PHP.. so it'll always be an invaluable
resource to me.

[color=blue]
> What books do you really *not* like and why? (just as useful info as
> knowing which books are popular is knowing which are *un*popular) What
> other PHP resources have you used and why?[/color]


Anything Wrox!

Never read any of their material.. but they have spammed various groups in
the past with "latest publications". That alone will make me never
purchase any of their releases.

[color=blue]
>
> Keep in mind that I am just feeling out the PHP community for opinions. If
> in fact there *is* a PHP community.[/color]


Oh there certainly is! 8)

I'm personally just looking at the Smarty template engine.. after hacking
phpBB a few times for various things... I can see Smarty code becoming
easy to use and a great resource again.. might be worth looking at too
(<http://smarty.php.net/>).

[color=blue]
> Thanks, all...[/color]


If you _really_ want dead tree material... I'd say apart from 'PHP and
MySQL Web Development', most publications from O'Reilly are a good and
safe bet (although somewhat pricey maybe.. but I believe you get what you
pay for (in this case anyway)).


HTH =)



Regards,

Ian

--
Ian.H [Design & Development]
digiServ Network - Web solutions
www.digiserv.net | irc.digiserv.ne t | forum.digiserv. net
Programming, Web design, development & hosting.

[rush]

Re: PHP Book Recommendations

"Jeffrey Silverman" <jeffrey@jhu.ed u> wrote in message
news:pan.2003.1 0.08.20.38.19.9 69487@jhu.edu.. .[color=blue]
> So here's the questions:
>
> What PHP books do you like?
> Why do you like them?
> What expertise range is targeted by the particular book(s) you have
> mentioned?
> What books do you really *not* like and why? (just as useful info as
> knowing which books are popular is knowing which are *un*popular)
> What other PHP resources have you used and why?
>
> Keep in mind that I am just feeling out the PHP community for opinions. If
> in fact there *is* a PHP community.[/color]

Here are a few books I found interesting:

http://www.templatetamer.org/index.php?RecommendedBooks

rush
p.s. there my affilite ids on the links to the books so if you do not like
that do not click on them and instead serach directly in amazon.
--

http://www.templatetamer.com/

[Manuel Lemos]

Re: PHP Book Recommendations

Hello,

On 10/08/2003 07:35 PM, Jeffrey Silverman wrote:[color=blue][color=green]
>>http://www.phpclasses.org/products.html[/color]
>
>
> Thanks Manuel. I actually did go to your site for a bit.
>
> Can I recommend a rating system of some kind for your book reviews? The
> fact that there are reviews is great. However, sometimes the reviews felt
> a bit on the fluff side or were hard to digest and assimilate from the
> standpoint of trying to make a decision like the one I need to make.
>
> Something like
> Ratings (or Summary or similar)
> Expertise level: beginner/intermediate/advanced
> Readability: 1-5 stars
> Examples: 1-5 stars
> Errors: 1-5 stars (I've noticed a lot of books have typos and whatnot.
> More stars would mean less typos or something like that)
> Overall: 1-5 stars
>
> Something along those lines. People on the web and using the web expect
> these instant summaries, and they can be useful.[/color]

Sounds like a good idea, although it takes some work to put in practice.

I will put it in my todo list to also let the users rate and add their
own comments about each book.

Thanks for the suggestion.

--

Regards,
Manuel Lemos

Free ready to use OOP components written in PHP

http://www.phpclasses.org/

[Jeffrey Silverman]

Re: PHP Book Recommendations

On Thu, 09 Oct 2003 00:34:15 +0000, Ian.H wrote:

<snip!>[color=blue]
>
> If you _really_ want dead tree material... I'd say apart from 'PHP and
> MySQL Web Development', most publications from O'Reilly are a good and
> safe bet (although somewhat pricey maybe.. but I believe you get what you
> pay for (in this case anyway)).
>[/color]

(I've bought a coupla O'Reilly books that I thought sucked. Notably,
"Apache: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Ed.")

Yes, well, a major component of the class, if I have my way (and I will),
will be instruction on how to use the PHP.net website. Too many noobs,
for example, don't know how to ustilize that resource.

But I do need "dead tree" materials. Gotta hand something out...or do I?

hmm... or maybe not. I'll think about that; you make a good point. I
realize that I, although I own a couple of PHP books, *never* refer to
them for anything. Only php.net's documentation. Why the heck should I
suggest a book if I don't even use 'em myself? ...just thinking out loud,
now.

thanks...

--
Jeffrey D. Silverman | jeffrey AT jhu DOT edu
Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, MD
Website | http://www.wse.jhu.edu/newtnotes/