PHP for Absolute Beginners

by Jason Lengstorf

Get started in web development using PHP. Even if you've never programmed before, author Jason Lengstorf introduces you to PHP by building a PHP-based blogging site while covering all the good coding practices and skills that you'll need when you start your own projects.

- Create web content with version 5.3 of PHP
- Learn good coding practices from the very beginning
- Learn how systems like WordPress work

Jason Lengstorf takes a practical approach to teaching you how to build a content management system. You'll dive into writing web applications and be guided by the author's supportive explanations, rather than learning elements of the PHP language and viewing examples after.

PHP for Absolute Beginners starts slowly and covers everything you need to know about beginning web development using PHP. Even the most inexperienced web developer will find this book accessible.

What you'll learn
- Install Apache, MySQL, and PHP
- Navigate the PHP language
- Learn the basics of writing clean code
- Talk to a database
- Make a PHP site more secure
- Create a complete blogging site

Who is this book for?

PHP for Absolute Beginners is written for the complete novice; no previous coding knowledge is assumed, and all concepts are explained to ensure maximum understanding.

However, later chapters in the book may appeal to intermediate programmers looking to improve their abilities in the area of developing content management systems or those interested in making the move from procedural code to the more modular object-oriented approach.

Genres: Programming, Technology

408 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2009

Reviews

[Mohamed Abdelwahab · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part 1
1- Setting up PHP Development Environment
Apache - MySQL - PHP
XAMPP
Eclipse or NetBeans
2- Language Basics
DataTypes- Vaiables - Commenting - Operators - Control Structure - Functions
3 - Passing Information
$GLOBALS - $_SERVER - $_GET -$_REQUEST - $_POST - $_FILES - $_SESSION - $_COOKIE
4- DataBase
MySQL - Open and close connection - Mysqli -PDO

Part 2
Building Blog Entry Manager with multiple pages and upload images Then add RSS Feed then adding commenting system
Make login and register to Blog and adding validation

[Dony · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a good book for setting up the development environment and basic language principles of PHP but beyond that it seems you are constantly coming up against errors in the code and thrown comparatively advanced concepts which aren't explained or delved upon.

If the errors in this book weren't there then the rest of the details could be easily looked up elsewhere online, or other books. But even then this is supposed to be THE starting point in the series for learning PHP/MySQL development.

I intended to complete this and move up the ranks, but considering what I've just mentioned I wouldn't feel confident about moving to more advanced levels or whether they would be prone to the same deficiencies as this one.

[Ainars · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before reading this book I did not know anything about PHP but I did know some programming that is probably the reason why I found it that good.

Things I really enjoyed in this book:
*Theory viewed in practical terms
*A lot of examples for easy PHP pages
*Explained in simple language (subjective)
*A little bit of CSS and JavaScript for spicing things up
*Many example ideas
Things I did not like:
*Not enough explanation behind Object oriented concepts early in the book, puts off many new readers

All in all this is not a book for beginners, but a good book if you already know some programming and just want to try out PHP.

[Amade · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book to get some basics of PHP to better manage my WordPress websites. Having read it, I am able to tackle any PHP-related issue with my WordPress theme, so it definitely worked for me on this end.
It has also quite nice 'bonus content' - it doesn't concentrate solely on PHP, but also web development in general. I had some questions on web development for years, which I didn't know how to ask, where to ask and who to ask. It answered most of them.
I highly recommend this book to anyone with some amateur experience in web development (e.g. managing WP websites and dabbling in theme files) that wants to take their skills and understanding to the next level.