well this question is pretty straight forward 
....
what is a good book to have for PHP referencing, coding examples/ tips???
ive heard a lot about
o'reilly php cookbook
visual quickstart guide, php advanced
these are the ones that people strongly recommended me to get
but they told me dont get
sams teach yourself 24 hours php&mysql
so need opinions!!......any good books out there??
Although you should just go to Amazon and read the reviews and try to figure out, since their opinions are as good as ours, my recomandation is PHP & MySQL Web Development by Luke Welling and Laura Thompson. Most books about describing PHP/MySQL syntax are going to relativly the same, this book has a a whole part dedicated to showing different examples. For instance there is building a content managment system in which they create a fake "book-o-rama" store. If you are looking for coding put to use this would be a best buy. What it isn't, however, is a refrence book. It still has the exact material you would find in a refrence book, but because it assumes you have little or no experience in the PHP field, it will have a lot of description about PHP history, web history, and a lot of re-iteration.
I think PHP Cookbook is a good refrence book, but I haven't bought it so I can't be sure. If you looking to learn PHP/MySQL and learn in thoroughly, then go with PHP & MySQL Web Development, if your looking for a refrence book checkout PHP Cookbook or books specificly marketed as refrence books.
Well, here's something I may be able to help with!
I learnt all my PHP and MYSQL stuff from 2 O'Reilly books,
Creating Dynamic Web pages: Programming PHP
and
Building Effective Database-Driven Web Sites: Web Database Applications with PHP & MySQL
They have tutorials in them, code references, and lots of snippets and examples. They truly are a learner's PHP and MySQL bibles.
The only problem with them, is the lack of trouble shooting. But hey, that's what forums are for!
Hell, I just tried looking for them on Amazon where I got them just under a year ago, those books aren't anywhere to be seen!
starting as a complete beginner i bought PHP & MySQL Web Development recommended above, i thought it was great adnd very helpfull, seems to cover everything with good examples. I also have php cookbook but i dont think thats as good, IMO.
I learned all my PHP stuff from two resources (besides this one):
www.php.net
PHP (i.e., practice and experiment)
LOL Weed... That's the best way to learn, but having a nice handy book around doesn't hurt either...
I personally have "PHP and MySQL Web Development 2nd Edition" as well. It's a good book to have around. I don't find myself referencing it as much as I did a long time ago, but I still open it once in a while.
Over the years, I have found the manuals at php.net and mysql.com are probably the best resources. Sometimes it's hard to find things, but this board is a great learning supplement, because we all work in a test environment, and can apply real world examples to things. Sometimes the books can't help there.
hmm...I know an amazing PHP reference book: THE PHP MANUAL
why people spend money on copies of the php manual (which is basically what a reference book is) beats the hell outta me.
Never read a PHP book. I've learnt from tutorials, this forum, and the php manual. Nothing else has taught me PHP.
However, if you are looking for a good book, I suggest you don't buy one. Borrow one from your local library. Just follow whatever it says, but assume that register_globals is off and replace all the HTTP*VARS with the new arrays.
