PHP 5 / MySQL Programming for the Absolute Beginner

Rating:
Summary: Great way to learn php and mysql
Review: Andy Harris has written a gem of a book. He is clearly an educator who has thought about how to teach programming. This book takes you step by step through php, introducing excellent examples and adding to them as the book moves along. This is a good text to use as an instructor or it would be great for self study. Clearly the best beginning book on the subject.

While the book covers php and mysql from the beginning, it would help if the reader had a background in html, css and some programming.

Rating:
Summary: NOT the best book for beginners
Review: The author Andy Harris comes across as a very nice guy in this book and he really is trying hard to think on a beginner level, but this book simply is not designed for someone with no programming experience. I have gone through many PHP books (as well as other programming language books) labeled "beginner" and it seems that none are able to truly grasp what a newbie to programming is going through. I ran into several errors in the book and, alas, there is no accompanament website that lists errata. NEVER purchase a book that does not have a frequently updated accopanying website.

There are some good things that you can pick up from this book, but if you rely on it for your sole introduction to PHP than you will go insane. I recommend finding a programming mentor -either in real life or online- and searching for peices of the puzzle on the internet. A great place to start is simply www.PHP.net.