NYCPHP Meetup

[Peter Sawczynec]

Step One:
Don't' spend money on beginner's books. Start by reading the basic books
right there in the store like at a Barnes & Noble.

A.) Learn about PHP and the Apache web environment first:
"PHP: Your Visual Blueprint for Creating Open Source, Server-Side Content"
by Paul Whitehead.
This book is real good for absolute beginners with lots and lots of screen
captures.

B.) Then get a handle on SQL, the language:
"Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes, Third Edition" by Ben Fort.
Step by step for learning SQL.

C.) Then get a grasp on MySQL by seeing it in basic action:
"PHP and MySQL for Dummies" by Janet Valade.
At first, learn about MySQL tangentially.

Step Two:
Look at and absorb as much of the intermediate books in the store also. Buy
only one. The one that talks to you most.


Step Three:
Sample all the expert books in the too. Expert books are the only one's you
will need at home/office. Buy two. 

Secretly, I've used the "...for Dummies" series. Always a reliable, great
intro to any programming topic(s). Just don't buy. Read 'em in the store. 

Finally, go mano a mano with Wrox books. When you really have to know a
concept, you are going to have to turn to advanced/expert Wrox. Period.  

Generally, I've found that I can pretty thoroughly grasp any difficult new
programming concept by studying it via three different books/manuals. 

Concurrently, read tutorials on the web a lot. There are a lot of sources,
but I found that www.phpdeveloper.org covers a lot.

Warmest regards,

Peter Sawczynec,
Technology Director
PSWebcode
718.543.3240
psaw at pswebcode.com 





-----Original Message-----
From: talk-bounces at lists.nyphp.org [mailto:talk-bounces at lists.nyphp.org] On
Behalf Of Ophir Prusak
Sent: Monday, November 08, 2004 10:06 PM
To: talk at lists.nyphp.org
Subject: [nycphp-talk] How did you learn PHP (and programming)


Hi All,

I'm currently writing an article on learning PHP and would like to
know how others learned PHP and computer programming in general.

I'm specifically looking for people who do NOT have a formal
university computer science education.

Please reply directly. Ideally I'd like to ask you a few questions
over the phone (this will take less time then you writing up a long
reply).

Thanks
Ophir

http://www.prusak.com
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