PHP5/MySQL Book Question - Teh Forum

<body> <div id="header"> <span class="left"> <span class="back"><a href="lthread_list.php?webtag=DEFAULT"><span class="image mobile_back" title="Back"></span></a></span> <span class="image mobile_logo" title="Beehive Forum Logo"></span> </span> <ul> <li> <a class="reply_all" href="lpost.php?webtag=DEFAULT&reply_to=41227.0&return_msg=41227.1"> <span class="image mobile_reply_all"></span><span class="text">Reply to All</span> </a> </li> <li> <a class="navigation" href="#"> <span class="image mobile_navigation"></span><span class="text">Show messages</span> </a> </li> <li> <a class="main" href="#"><span class="image mobile_menu" title="Menu"></span> </a> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="menu main"> <ul> <li><a href="lthread_list.php?webtag=DEFAULT">Messages</a></li> <li><a href="lpm.php?webtag=DEFAULT">Inbox</a></li> <li><a href="lsearch.php?webtag=DEFAULT">Search</a></li> <li><a href="llogon.php?webtag=DEFAULT">Login</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="menu navigation"><a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=41227.1">1–10</a><a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=41227.11">11–19</a></div> <div id="page_content"> <h3 class="thread_title"><a href="index.php?webtag=DEFAULT&amp;msg=41227.1">PHP5/MySQL Book Question</a> </h3> <div id="messages" data-navigation="41227_1_19_10"> <a name="a41227_1"></a><div class="message" id="message_41227_1"> <div class="message_header"> <div class="message_from"> From: DeannaG (CYBATRON)<span class="message_time"> 4 Oct 2014 01:30</span> <div class="clearer"></div> </div><div class="message_to">To: ALL<span class="message_count">1 of 19</span><div class="clearer"></div> </div> </div> <div class="message_links"> <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=41227.1">41227.1</a></div> <div class="message_body"> Does anyone know if this is a good book for beginners?<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/PHP-5-MySQL-Programming-for-the-Absolute-Beginner-by-Andy-Harris-and-Andrew-Harr-/161421569291?pt=US_Texbook_Education&hash=item259579ad0b">http://www.ebay.com/itm/PHP-5-MySQL-Programming-for-the-Absolute-Beginner-by-Andy-Harris-and-Andrew-Harr-/161421569291?pt=US_Texbook_Education&hash=item259579ad0b</a><br /><br /> I'm on a budget. A laughable one.</div> <div class="message_footer"> <div class="message_footer_links"><a href="lpost.php?webtag=DEFAULT&reply_to=41227.1&return_msg=41227.1" class="reply"><span class="image post"></span>Reply</a></div> <div class="message_vote_form" data-msg="41227.1"> <span class="rating">0/0</span> <span class="image vote vote_down vote_down_off" title="Vote Down"></span> <span class="image vote vote_up vote_up_off" title="Vote Up"></span> </div> </div> </div><a name="a41227_2"></a><div class="message" id="message_41227_2"> <div class="message_header"> <div class="message_from"> From: Peter (BOUGHTONP)<span class="message_time"> 4 Oct 2014 13:43</span> <div class="clearer"></div> </div><div class="message_to">To: DeannaG (CYBATRON) <span><span class="image post_read" title="Read: 5 Oct 2014 01:13"></span></span> <span class="message_count">2 of 19</span><div class="clearer"></div> </div> </div> <div class="message_links"> <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=41227.2">41227.2</a> In reply to <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=41227.1#a41227_1" target="_self">41227.1</a></div> <div class="message_body"> Do you specifically need a book? <p>Zend has a bunch of <a href="http://devzone.zend.com/6/php-101-php-for-the-absolute-beginner/">PHP beginner tutorials</a>.</p></div> <div class="message_footer"> <div class="message_footer_links"><a href="lpost.php?webtag=DEFAULT&reply_to=41227.2&return_msg=41227.1" class="reply"><span class="image post"></span>Reply</a></div> <div class="message_vote_form" data-msg="41227.2"> <span class="rating">0/0</span> <span class="image vote vote_down vote_down_off" title="Vote Down"></span> <span class="image vote vote_up vote_up_off" title="Vote Up"></span> </div> </div> </div><a name="a41227_3"></a><div class="message" id="message_41227_3"> <div class="message_header"> <div class="message_from"> From: DeannaG (CYBATRON)<span class="message_time"> 5 Oct 2014 01:20</span> <div class="clearer"></div> </div><div class="message_to">To: Peter (BOUGHTONP) <span><span class="image post_read" title="Read: 6 Oct 2014 21:59"></span></span> <span class="message_count">3 of 19</span><div class="clearer"></div> </div> </div> <div class="message_links"> <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=41227.3">41227.3</a> In reply to <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=41227.1#a41227_2" target="_self">41227.2</a></div> <div class="message_body"> I know I can get a lot of stuff online, but there are times I don't have access to the computer. I'm not the only in the house. So I'd like a nice book for when I want to study stuff and someone else in on the computer, or maybe for useful reading material in the car, instead of my usual entertainment books.<br /><br /> I guess I'm also a bit of old school. I love books. The feel of them in my hands, turning the pages, even the smell of them. I've always loved books. So in a sense having a good book to learn PHP/MySQL from would be a twofer for me. The pleasure of a book and easy access. Even when the computer is occupied by someone else. <span class="emoticon e_smile" title=":)"><span class="e__">:)</span></span></div> <div class="message_footer"> <div class="message_footer_links"><a href="lpost.php?webtag=DEFAULT&reply_to=41227.3&return_msg=41227.1" class="reply"><span class="image post"></span>Reply</a></div> <div class="message_vote_form" data-msg="41227.3"> <span class="rating">0/0</span> <span class="image vote vote_down vote_down_off" title="Vote Down"></span> <span class="image vote vote_up vote_up_off" title="Vote Up"></span> </div> </div> </div><a name="a41227_4"></a><div class="message" id="message_41227_4"> <div class="message_header"> <div class="message_from"> From: af (CAER)<span class="message_time"> 6 Oct 2014 19:01</span> <div class="clearer"></div> </div><div class="message_to">To: ALL<span class="message_count">4 of 19</span><div class="clearer"></div> </div> </div> <div class="message_links"> <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=41227.4">41227.4</a></div> <div class="message_body"> [obligatory "oh god no not PHP it's the worst thing ever" comment]</div> <div class="message_footer"> <div class="message_footer_links"><a href="lpost.php?webtag=DEFAULT&reply_to=41227.4&return_msg=41227.1" class="reply"><span class="image post"></span>Reply</a></div> <div class="message_vote_form" data-msg="41227.4"> <span class="rating">0/0</span> <span class="image vote vote_down vote_down_off" title="Vote Down"></span> <span class="image vote vote_up vote_up_off" title="Vote Up"></span> </div> </div> </div><a name="a41227_5"></a><div class="message" id="message_41227_5"> <div class="message_header"> <div class="message_from"> From: Peter (BOUGHTONP)<span class="message_time"> 6 Oct 2014 22:22</span> <div class="clearer"></div> </div><div class="message_to">To: DeannaG (CYBATRON) <span><span class="image post_read" title="Read: 8 Oct 2014 16:20"></span></span> <span class="message_count">5 of 19</span><div class="clearer"></div> </div> </div> <div class="message_links"> <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=41227.5">41227.5</a> In reply to <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=41227.1#a41227_3" target="_self">41227.3</a></div> <div class="message_body"> <em>the</em> computer? <span class="emoticon e_questioned" title=":?"><span class="e__">:?</span></span> <p>I understand the wanting to hold, smell, and turn pages, but at the same time I'm not sure about learning programming from a book - not only because it'll assume you're at a computer following along, but because if you're not hands-on it's probably harder to absorb the concepts. </p><p>But anyhow, if you're certain about getting a book, I'd look at the Amazon reviews (though buy it elsewhere) - the [latest version of the] one you linked has <a href="http://www.amazon.com/PHP-MySQL-Programming-Absolute-Beginner/product-reviews/1598637983">mixed reviews</a> - but the negativity seems to stem from it expecting HTML knowledge, which is probably not an issue for you?</p></div> <div class="message_footer"> <div class="message_footer_links"><a href="lpost.php?webtag=DEFAULT&reply_to=41227.5&return_msg=41227.1" class="reply"><span class="image post"></span>Reply</a></div> <div class="message_vote_form" data-msg="41227.5"> <span class="rating">0/0</span> <span class="image vote vote_down vote_down_off" title="Vote Down"></span> <span class="image vote vote_up vote_up_off" title="Vote Up"></span> </div> </div> </div><a name="a41227_6"></a><div class="message" id="message_41227_6"> <div class="message_header"> <div class="message_from"> From: CHYRON (DSMITHHFX)<span class="message_time"> 7 Oct 2014 00:30</span> <div class="clearer"></div> </div><div class="message_to">To: Peter (BOUGHTONP) <span><span class="image post_read" title="Read: 7 Oct 2014 21:48"></span></span> <span class="message_count">6 of 19</span><div class="clearer"></div> </div> </div> <div class="message_links"> <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=41227.6">41227.6</a> In reply to <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=41227.1#a41227_5" target="_self">41227.5</a></div> <div class="message_body"> A book would be useful when you don't have network access. And any good games.</div> <div class="message_footer"> <div class="message_footer_links"><a href="lpost.php?webtag=DEFAULT&reply_to=41227.6&return_msg=41227.1" class="reply"><span class="image post"></span>Reply</a></div> <div class="message_vote_form" data-msg="41227.6"> <span class="rating">0/0</span> <span class="image vote vote_down vote_down_off" title="Vote Down"></span> <span class="image vote vote_up vote_up_off" title="Vote Up"></span> </div> </div> </div><a name="a41227_7"></a><div class="message" id="message_41227_7"> <div class="message_header"> <div class="message_from"> From: DeannaG (CYBATRON)<span class="message_time"> 8 Oct 2014 16:25</span> <div class="clearer"></div> </div><div class="message_to">To: Peter (BOUGHTONP) <span><span class="image post_read" title="Read: 8 Oct 2014 21:34"></span></span> <span class="message_count">7 of 19</span><div class="clearer"></div> </div> </div> <div class="message_links"> <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=41227.7">41227.7</a> In reply to <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=41227.1#a41227_5" target="_self">41227.5</a></div> <div class="message_body"> HTML isn't an issue. CSS usually isn't either. <span class="emoticon e_smile" title=":)"><span class="e__">:)</span></span><br /><br /> Yep. <em>The</em> computer. We did have two, but the other one up and died, and we don't have the funds to get it fixed. I'm not really thinking it's worth it anyway. It's like 12+ years old. When I was over doing some grocery shopping, I was looking at one at Sam's Club. Thinking I might try to save up for it, instead of worrying about the old one.</div> <div class="message_footer"> <div class="message_footer_links"><a href="lpost.php?webtag=DEFAULT&reply_to=41227.7&return_msg=41227.1" class="reply"><span class="image post"></span>Reply</a></div> <div class="message_vote_form" data-msg="41227.7"> <span class="rating">0/0</span> <span class="image vote vote_down vote_down_off" title="Vote Down"></span> <span class="image vote vote_up vote_up_off" title="Vote Up"></span> </div> </div> </div><a name="a41227_8"></a><div class="message" id="message_41227_8"> <div class="message_header"> <div class="message_from"> From: af (CAER)<span class="message_time"> 9 Oct 2014 11:33</span> <div class="clearer"></div> </div><div class="message_to">To: DeannaG (CYBATRON) <span><span class="image post_read" title="Read: 12 Oct 2014 23:30"></span></span> <span class="message_count">8 of 19</span><div class="clearer"></div> </div> </div> <div class="message_links"> <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=41227.8">41227.8</a> In reply to <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=41227.1#a41227_7" target="_self">41227.7</a></div> <div class="message_body"> Why do you want to learn PHP anyway? Something like Ruby or Python (or even JavaScript, despite what people say about it) might be a better investment, and less bewilderingly inconsistent too.<br /> <br /> Imo, PHP's only advantages are its ubiquity and its deceptively low barrier to entry.</div> <div class="message_footer"> <div class="message_footer_links"><a href="lpost.php?webtag=DEFAULT&reply_to=41227.8&return_msg=41227.1" class="reply"><span class="image post"></span>Reply</a></div> <div class="message_vote_form" data-msg="41227.8"> <span class="rating">0/0</span> <span class="image vote vote_down vote_down_off" title="Vote Down"></span> <span class="image vote vote_up vote_up_off" title="Vote Up"></span> </div> </div> </div><a name="a41227_9"></a><div class="message" id="message_41227_9"> <div class="message_header"> <div class="message_from"> From: Peter (BOUGHTONP)<span class="message_time"> 9 Oct 2014 18:22</span> <div class="clearer"></div> </div><div class="message_to">To: af (CAER) <span><span class="image post_read" title="Read: 9 Oct 2014 19:03"></span></span> <span class="message_count">9 of 19</span><div class="clearer"></div> </div> </div> <div class="message_links"> <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=41227.9">41227.9</a> In reply to <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=41227.1#a41227_8" target="_self">41227.8</a></div> <div class="message_body"> <i style="color:#568;">> Why do you want to learn PHP anyway? ... a better investment</i> <br />Do you have signatures ignored? <p><i style="color:#568;">> ...its deceptively low barrier to entry.</i> <br />That's <em>not</em> an advantage. </p><p><i style="color:#568;">> or even JavaScript, despite what people say about it</i> <br />People don't say about it (not once you exclude those that don't know what they're talking about).</p></div> <div class="message_footer"> <div class="message_footer_links"><a href="lpost.php?webtag=DEFAULT&reply_to=41227.9&return_msg=41227.1" class="reply"><span class="image post"></span>Reply</a></div> <div class="message_vote_form" data-msg="41227.9"> <span class="rating">0/0</span> <span class="image vote vote_down vote_down_off" title="Vote Down"></span> <span class="image vote vote_up vote_up_off" title="Vote Up"></span> </div> </div> </div><a name="a41227_10"></a><div class="message" id="message_41227_10"> <div class="message_header"> <div class="message_from"> From: af (CAER)<span class="message_time"> 9 Oct 2014 19:12</span> <div class="clearer"></div> </div><div class="message_to">To: Peter (BOUGHTONP) <span><span class="image post_read" title="Read: 9 Oct 2014 21:41"></span></span> <span class="message_count">10 of 19</span><div class="clearer"></div> </div> </div> <div class="message_links"> <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=41227.10">41227.10</a> In reply to <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=41227.1#a41227_9" target="_self">41227.9</a></div> <div class="message_body"> Oh, yeah, was on my phone, and hadn't paid attention to her signature before.<br /><br /> Anyway, what I was getting at was that although it has a low barrier to entry in that you can just open a text editor and write some trivial code and it all just magically works, the lack of any kind of structure makes it quickly get messy once you move beyond trivial stuff. That's what I meant by 'deceptively' – it lures you in with initial ease of use, then slaps you in the face with its madness.<br /><br /> I'm not really sure if it's an advantage or not, tbh. On the one hand, it's an early short feedback loop, and is conceptually simple enough that beginners can get good results and be encouraged to continue to more advanced things. On the other hand, without proper guidance, those beginners could quite easily end up in a nightmare tangle of logic and presentation.<br /><br /> JavaScript: quite.<div class="edit_text">EDITED: 9 Oct 2014 19:15 by CAER</div> </div> <div class="message_footer"> <div class="message_footer_links"><a href="lpost.php?webtag=DEFAULT&reply_to=41227.10&return_msg=41227.1" class="reply"><span class="image post"></span>Reply</a></div> <div class="message_vote_form" data-msg="41227.10"> <span class="rating">0/0</span> <span class="image vote vote_down vote_down_off" title="Vote Down"></span> <span class="image vote vote_up vote_up_off" title="Vote Up"></span> </div> </div> </div></div> <div class="message_page_footer"> <ul> <li class="right_col"><form accept-charset="utf-8" method="get" action="lmessages.php" target="_self"><input type="hidden" name="webtag" id="webtag" class="bhinputtext" value="DEFAULT" dir="ltr" /><input type="hidden" name="msg" id="msg" class="bhinputtext" value="41227.11" dir="ltr" /><input type="submit" name="submit" id="keep_reading" value="Keep reading…" class="button" /></form></li> </ul> </div> </div> </body>