Best PHP and MySQL development book
I finally remembered this book when someone asked me about how to get started with PHP and MySQL development. If you get the chance, get a copy of this book:
PHP and MySQL Web Development by Luke Welling, Laura Thomson
Barnes & Noble: http://snurl.com/265xp
Why do I like this book so much?
- Teaching by application - The book teaches fundamentals by showing how to apply techniques to an active website. There’s not a ton of theory to wade through, and you feel like you’re learning the material faster.
- Intertwined strategies - You learn how to get PHP working with MySQL, and then you learn how to optimize your code. It’s important to know which work is best done by PHP and which is best done by MySQL. This book teaches both.
- Lots of examples - The CD-ROM comes with tons of code examples that actually relate to something you can use.
I’d be happy to loan my copy, but I’ve loaned it out and it never returned.