Best book on php for learning?

[hardcore]

Hey all,

Just wondering if there are any books you can recommend to me for learning php. Basically I am looking to develop a website that will be part of an extensive database.

I know the basics of html and have made some html sites before. I wouldn't consider myself an expert in web development at all. Am I skipping over required steps or is it possible to learn php without a fundamental understanding of more basic html?

Thanks for your time.

[Azala]

I've found php.net's help to be of tremendous value when learning php. Also searching google for examples always return answers.

You can learn php all you want without extensive knowledge about html, but, that would be like building a car without being able to drive it or something 😃

I suggest you get a good understanding of tables atleast as you will most likely use alot of them working with a database.

[thorpe]

in a web environment, php outputs whatever html you tell it to. so the more html you know, the better your design might be. that being said, if youve been happy with your designs so far, than you'll be happy with whatever you tell php to output.

hard to explain....but as you come to understand what php is, you'll get it.

instead of recomending a hard copy book, i can recomend a free online book. practical php. if you work your way through that, you should get a decent understanding.

[bbreslauer]

I would also recommend learning forms, inside and out.

As for books, I found that "PHP and MySQL Web Development", by Luke Welling and Laura Thomson, was very good.