Never programmed before. Where should I start with PHP?

[Dan C]

Hello!


I want to start learning PHP but honestly don't know where to start. I've
never programmed before. (I only know HTML and CSS)

I've checked http://us2.php.net/support.php for help and found a books link
but it goes to a wide selection of PHP books on Amazon and don't know which
to pick.
I was thinking about Programming PHP by Kevin Tatroe, Peter MacIntyre and
Rasmus Lerdorf (Feb 22, 2013) but reviews said that it's too advanced for a
beginner that never programmed before.

Can someone give me an advice where I should start?


Thank you in advance!

[Shane Drower-Copley]

Hey,

One suggestion is to do some of the online tutorials. w3schools.com,
devzone.zend.com, and php.net/tut.php are all sites I found in a
simple google search for "php tutorials". I've done some stuff with
w3schools and I found their tutorial quite good for the basics. Maybe
try them before spending any money.

Regards
Bluekable

Post by Dan C
Hello!
I want to start learning PHP but honestly don't know where to start. I've
never programmed before. (I only know HTML and CSS)
I've checked http://us2.php.net/support.php for help and found a books link
but it goes to a wide selection of PHP books on Amazon and don't know which
to pick.
I was thinking about Programming PHP by Kevin Tatroe, Peter MacIntyre and
Rasmus Lerdorf (Feb 22, 2013) but reviews said that it's too advanced for a
beginner that never programmed before.
Can someone give me an advice where I should start?
Thank you in advance!

[Shane Drower-Copley]

Oh, and I forgot to mention that they are free.

Regards
Bluekable

Post by Shane Drower-Copley
Hey,
One suggestion is to do some of the online tutorials. w3schools.com,
devzone.zend.com, and php.net/tut.php are all sites I found in a
simple google search for "php tutorials". I've done some stuff with
w3schools and I found their tutorial quite good for the basics. Maybe
try them before spending any money.
Regards
Bluekable

Post by Dan C
Hello!
I want to start learning PHP but honestly don't know where to start. I've
never programmed before. (I only know HTML and CSS)
I've checked http://us2.php.net/support.php for help and found a books link
but it goes to a wide selection of PHP books on Amazon and don't know which
to pick.
I was thinking about Programming PHP by Kevin Tatroe, Peter MacIntyre and
Rasmus Lerdorf (Feb 22, 2013) but reviews said that it's too advanced for a
beginner that never programmed before.
Can someone give me an advice where I should start?
Thank you in advance!

[Maciek Sokolewicz]

Post by Shane Drower-Copley
Oh, and I forgot to mention that they are free.
Regards
Bluekable

Post by Shane Drower-Copley
Hey,
One suggestion is to do some of the online tutorials. w3schools.com,
devzone.zend.com, and php.net/tut.php are all sites I found in a
simple google search for "php tutorials". I've done some stuff with
w3schools and I found their tutorial quite good for the basics. Maybe
try them before spending any money.
Regards
Bluekable

Post by Dan C
Hello!
I want to start learning PHP but honestly don't know where to start. I've
never programmed before. (I only know HTML and CSS)
I've checked http://us2.php.net/support.php for help and found a books link
but it goes to a wide selection of PHP books on Amazon and don't know which
to pick.
I was thinking about Programming PHP by Kevin Tatroe, Peter MacIntyre and
Rasmus Lerdorf (Feb 22, 2013) but reviews said that it's too advanced for a
beginner that never programmed before.
Can someone give me an advice where I should start?
Thank you in advance!

First of all; to all: do NOT top-post in this newsgroup.

Secondly, I would strongly advise _against_ using w3schools. The website
in question gives the appearance of being affiliated with w3c (the world
wide web consortium), but it's not. Unfortunately, w3schools has also
often given incorrect information and claimed various techniques as
"standard" while incorrectly using them. [http://www.w3fools.com/]

Anyway, I would personally suggest trying other places to learn from :)
(and I learned it from the book you mentioned by Kevin Tatroe and Rasmus
Lerdorf; albeit a much older version)

- Tul

[Shawn McKenzie]

Who? Me?


On Tue, Dec 3, 2013 at 8:58 AM, Maciek Sokolewicz <

Post by Maciek Sokolewicz

Post by Shane Drower-Copley
Oh, and I forgot to mention that they are free.
Regards
Bluekable

Post by Shane Drower-Copley
Hey,
One suggestion is to do some of the online tutorials. w3schools.com,
devzone.zend.com, and php.net/tut.php are all sites I found in a
simple google search for "php tutorials". I've done some stuff with
w3schools and I found their tutorial quite good for the basics. Maybe
try them before spending any money.
Regards
Bluekable

Post by Dan C
Hello!
I want to start learning PHP but honestly don't know where to start. I've
never programmed before. (I only know HTML and CSS)
I've checked http://us2.php.net/support.php for help and found a books link
but it goes to a wide selection of PHP books on Amazon and don't know which
to pick.
I was thinking about Programming PHP by Kevin Tatroe, Peter MacIntyre and
Rasmus Lerdorf (Feb 22, 2013) but reviews said that it's too advanced
for
a
beginner that never programmed before.
Can someone give me an advice where I should start?
Thank you in advance!

First of all; to all: do NOT top-post in this newsgroup.
Secondly, I would strongly advise _against_ using w3schools. The website
in question gives the appearance of being affiliated with w3c (the world
wide web consortium), but it's not. Unfortunately, w3schools has also often
given incorrect information and claimed various techniques as "standard"
while incorrectly using them. [http://www.w3fools.com/]
Anyway, I would personally suggest trying other places to learn from :)
(and I learned it from the book you mentioned by Kevin Tatroe and Rasmus
Lerdorf; albeit a much older version)
- Tul
--
PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/)
To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php

[Eric K. Dickinson]

http://www.codecademy.com/ is free.
I thought it quite worthwhile.

Post by Shane Drower-Copley
Hey,
One suggestion is to do some of the online tutorials. w3schools.com,
devzone.zend.com, and php.net/tut.php are all sites I found in a
simple google search for "php tutorials". I've done some stuff with
w3schools and I found their tutorial quite good for the basics. Maybe
try them before spending any money.
Regards
Bluekable

Post by Dan C
Hello!
I want to start learning PHP but honestly don't know where to start. I've
never programmed before. (I only know HTML and CSS)
I've checked http://us2.php.net/support.php for help and found a books link
but it goes to a wide selection of PHP books on Amazon and don't know which
to pick.
I was thinking about Programming PHP by Kevin Tatroe, Peter MacIntyre and
Rasmus Lerdorf (Feb 22, 2013) but reviews said that it's too advanced for a
beginner that never programmed before.
Can someone give me an advice where I should start?
Thank you in advance!

[leam hall]

Also, joining the ##php channel on freenode helps for quick answers.

[Shawn McKenzie]

Please don't recommend w3schools! http://www.w3fools.com/

Post by Shane Drower-Copley
Hey,
One suggestion is to do some of the online tutorials. w3schools.com,
devzone.zend.com, and php.net/tut.php are all sites I found in a
simple google search for "php tutorials". I've done some stuff with
w3schools and I found their tutorial quite good for the basics. Maybe
try them before spending any money.
Regards
Bluekable

Post by Dan C
Hello!
I want to start learning PHP but honestly don't know where to start. I've
never programmed before. (I only know HTML and CSS)
I've checked http://us2.php.net/support.php for help and found a books

link

Post by Dan C
but it goes to a wide selection of PHP books on Amazon and don't know

which

Post by Dan C
to pick.
I was thinking about Programming PHP by Kevin Tatroe, Peter MacIntyre and
Rasmus Lerdorf (Feb 22, 2013) but reviews said that it's too advanced

for a

Post by Dan C
beginner that never programmed before.
Can someone give me an advice where I should start?
Thank you in advance!

--
PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/)
To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php

[Tsvetan Nikolov]

I would totally skip w3schools

Post by Shawn McKenzie
Please don't recommend w3schools! http://www.w3fools.com/

Post by Shane Drower-Copley
Hey,
One suggestion is to do some of the online tutorials. w3schools.com,
devzone.zend.com, and php.net/tut.php are all sites I found in a
simple google search for "php tutorials". I've done some stuff with
w3schools and I found their tutorial quite good for the basics. Maybe
try them before spending any money.
Regards
Bluekable

Post by Dan C
Hello!
I want to start learning PHP but honestly don't know where to start.

I've

Post by Shane Drower-Copley

Post by Dan C
never programmed before. (I only know HTML and CSS)
I've checked http://us2.php.net/support.php for help and found a books

link

Post by Dan C
but it goes to a wide selection of PHP books on Amazon and don't know

which

Post by Dan C
to pick.
I was thinking about Programming PHP by Kevin Tatroe, Peter MacIntyre

and

Post by Shane Drower-Copley

Post by Dan C
Rasmus Lerdorf (Feb 22, 2013) but reviews said that it's too advanced

for a

Post by Dan C
beginner that never programmed before.
Can someone give me an advice where I should start?
Thank you in advance!

--
PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/)
To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php

[Christoph Boget]

Post by Tsvetan Nikolov

Please don't recommend w3schools! http://www.w3fools.com/

I would totally skip w3schools

It'd be nice for the OP if everyone saying this explained why.

[leam hall]

Of the resources mentioned so far, the PHP.net tutorial (
http://us1.php.net/manual/en/tutorial.php) seems the easiest to get started
with. However, it is very simple and does not go very far. I have gotten
answers from W3Schools but have not made dedicated use of them. It is easy
to find bad information in lots of places.

The CodeAcademy.com stuff looks interesting. If nothing else it would give
you an introduction and let you know if you want to go buy a book or not.

Leam

[Sebastian Krebs]

Post by Christoph Boget

Post by Tsvetan Nikolov

Please don't recommend w3schools! http://www.w3fools.com/

I would totally skip w3schools

It'd be nice for the OP if everyone saying this explained why.

Step 1: Click on the link
Step 2: ?
Step 3: Profit

But seriously: They provide _dangerous_ examples at several places. In best
case they are only not good.

Post by Christoph Boget
--
PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/)
To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php

[Shawn McKenzie]

Post by Sebastian Krebs

Post by Christoph Boget

Post by Tsvetan Nikolov

Please don't recommend w3schools! http://www.w3fools.com/

I would totally skip w3schools

It'd be nice for the OP if everyone saying this explained why.

Step 1: Click on the link
Step 2: ?
Step 3: Profit
But seriously: They provide _dangerous_ examples at several places. In best
case they are only not good.

The link I posted to http://www.w3fools.com/ has good explanations.

[Aziz Saleh]

Post by Shawn McKenzie

Post by Sebastian Krebs

Post by Christoph Boget

Post by Tsvetan Nikolov

Please don't recommend w3schools! http://www.w3fools.com/

I would totally skip w3schools

It'd be nice for the OP if everyone saying this explained why.

Step 1: Click on the link
Step 2: ?
Step 3: Profit
But seriously: They provide _dangerous_ examples at several places. In

best

Post by Sebastian Krebs
case they are only not good.

The link I posted to http://www.w3fools.com/ has good explanations.

If I am not mistaken they use to have a list of actual issues on W3Schools,
I wonder why they have removed that list? Was it because W3Schools actually
fixed those issues?

I think besides DB/file upload examples they have W3Schools is a good site.

[Sebastian Krebs]

Post by Aziz Saleh

Post by Shawn McKenzie

Post by Sebastian Krebs

Post by Christoph Boget

Post by Tsvetan Nikolov

Please don't recommend w3schools! http://www.w3fools.com/

I would totally skip w3schools

It'd be nice for the OP if everyone saying this explained why.

Step 1: Click on the link
Step 2: ?
Step 3: Profit
But seriously: They provide _dangerous_ examples at several places. In

best

Post by Sebastian Krebs
case they are only not good.

The link I posted to http://www.w3fools.com/ has good explanations.

If I am not mistaken they use to have a list of actual issues on
W3Schools, I wonder why they have removed that list? Was it because
W3Schools actually fixed those issues?
I think besides DB/file upload examples they have W3Schools is a good site.

The "besides" is what makes me concerned: There _are_ issues and for a
beginner it is simply not possible to distinguish between "OK" and "bad"
examples

[Dare Williams]

I will advice you to buy a beginner book "PHP5 for dummies" by Janet Valade. That should help you alot.

Regards.




On Tuesday, December 3, 2013 3:02 PM, Dan C <***@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello!


I want to start learning PHP but honestly don't know where to start. I've
never programmed before. (I only know HTML and CSS)

I've checked http://us2.php.net/support.php for help and found a books link
but it goes to a wide selection of PHP books on Amazon and don't know which
to pick.
I was thinking about Programming PHP by Kevin Tatroe, Peter MacIntyre and
Rasmus Lerdorf (Feb 22, 2013) but reviews said that it's too advanced for a
beginner that never programmed before.

Can someone give me an advice where I should start?


Thank you in advance!

[John Meyer]

Generally I don't like books that start out by assuming your a moron or
that you can learn any language in a fixed number of hours or days.

Post by Dare Williams
I will advice you to buy a beginner book "PHP5 for dummies" by Janet Valade. That should help you alot.
Regards.
Hello!
I want to start learning PHP but honestly don't know where to start. I've
never programmed before. (I only know HTML and CSS)
I've checked http://us2.php.net/support.php for help and found a books link
but it goes to a wide selection of PHP books on Amazon and don't know which
to pick.
I was thinking about Programming PHP by Kevin Tatroe, Peter MacIntyre and
Rasmus Lerdorf (Feb 22, 2013) but reviews said that it's too advanced for a
beginner that never programmed before.
Can someone give me an advice where I should start?
Thank you in advance!

[leam hall]

I'm with John on this one. The O'Reilly "Learning PHP" book is not for
dummies, but if you take it a few steps at a time, and ask lots of
questions, it's a fun read.

That said, I refer to my older copy often. I easily forget stuff that
hasn't been used lately.

Leam

Post by John Meyer
Generally I don't like books that start out by assuming your a moron or
that you can learn any language in a fixed number of hours or days.

[Jasper Kips]

Dan,
I used PHP5 for Dummies, and moved on to the PHP CookBook. The rest is History

Sincerely,

Jasper Kips

Post by Dan C
Hello!
I want to start learning PHP but honestly don't know where to start. I've
never programmed before. (I only know HTML and CSS)
I've checked http://us2.php.net/support.php for help and found a books link
but it goes to a wide selection of PHP books on Amazon and don't know which
to pick.
I was thinking about Programming PHP by Kevin Tatroe, Peter MacIntyre and
Rasmus Lerdorf (Feb 22, 2013) but reviews said that it's too advanced for a
beginner that never programmed before.
Can someone give me an advice where I should start?
Thank you in advance!

[George Wilson]

I agree with others on w3schools- not the best site- others have
mentioned most of the points I would make.
Personally, I started off with a basic php book (Beginning PHP 5.3 by
Matt Doyle). It's not bad- I still use it as a reference. I also spent
time just learning the basic functions and their syntax, input/output
data types, etc... Online tutorials help, as do online videos (there
are a number of tech tutorial video companies that have some good
videos. I am sure there are a number of free ones. Most important
suggestion I can give is to come up with some project you want to
accomplish and use that as your motivation. It is hard to learn code
if you do not do code. It's like mathematics that way.
Try to watch out for "best practices" suggestions and "design
patterns". I think knowing basic design patterns can not be stressed
enough.
Since you are new to programming- I would suggest also getting a book
which gives you a good overview of basic programming principles.
Usually that choose a language to demonstrate examples. I am not
familiar with one that uses php but I would not doubt it is there is
one out there.
Also, keep an eye out for stuff on unit testing. Call me a zealot but
to me you can not separate programming from debugging- unit testing
can dramatical reduce debugging time.

So to summarize:
1) Personally, I am a believer in getting a good book.
2) Use online tutorials as a supplement
3) keep an eye out for design patterns and best practices suggestions-
Model View Controller architectural pattern is a good one to keep an
eye out.
4) Familiarize yourself with unit testing techniques and get used to
using it (look up phpunit)
5) Find an intro level book on basic programming principles

[Dan C]

I didn't expect to get so many replies. Thank you so much to everyone! Your
replies have been very very useful for a beginner like me.

I've just signed up at Codecademy and love it. I'll see how it goes after
that tutorial. I will keep an eye on the mailing list, the php irc channel
and also try to build something with PHP.


Again, thank you so much!