Teaching yourself PHP for idiots

I have been studying PHP part time off and on for a month or so and I get it a little, but I really want to know how to build software and I am pretty much the world's most novice programmer.

Does anyone out there know of the best free way to learn PHP in a pratical environment. Please do not point me to php.net...i really can't navigate to well there. Anything else would be very much appreciated.

 

but can an idiot really learn?

 

I am new to PHP as well, and just purchased the book "PHP and MySQL for dynamic Web Sites". I am very happy with the tone and speed of the book. As a guy who knows basic HTML and has manipulated a few dozen scripts, it is going at just the right speed for me (not to fast, not to slow). I am just now getting through chapter two, but really like it so far. There is a companion website with the book, and I have downloaded all the scripts that are in the book. The only way to get through it is to set some serious study time aside and force myself to read and play around with every other script. You really have to set serious study time aside I think; I have been waiting for this break in classes and will dedicate myself fulltime to learning for a few days. Good luck.

 

try out with How to do everything with PHP and MySQL. You will easily get a torrent to download it.

 

Maybe here: http://www.php.net/getting-started

And search the forum. There are millions of threads about this.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=site:forums.digitalpoint.com+learning+php

 

http://devzone.zend.com/node/view/id/625

 

I don't know, did you ever learn to walk or does your mommy just push you around in a stroller?

 

I googled "php video tutorials" and found some really awesome sites....check em out.

 

hey you guys are all awesome(even starkana) so thank you very much for the help and info...I am going to unsubscribe to this thread. I really like this video tutorial on www.phpvideotutorials.com....its right on speed with me for where I stand....I think and learn fast but read really slow, so this will work out great.


THanks Guys

 

Check out http://www.tizag.com/phpT/

They have some great tutorials

Easy to read and understand Hope it helps!

 

The book that really helped me to dive into PHP was Web Database Applications with PHP & MySQL from O'Reilly. Its a great tutorial like book that covers a lot of ground. All of the other O-Reilly PHP books are great.

 

God, already lost on the first page...

 

There are plenty of tutorials available through out. But make sure you dont learn in rush, you gotta devote yourself to it - if its your first language. Check this out: http://norvig.com/21-days.html