Best way to learn php? I have no prior experience, in any sort of programming. This would be my first langauge.
Best way? Learn by doing. Buy a book or find online tutorials, do what they say. Find yourself pet projects to challenge yourself and figure out either how to make them or how other people made them. Start small and build your way up, and after a while you'll know how to code.
I found out (it doesn't if this is your first language) the best way is to practice and experiment. Get a book rated "for beginners" setup your server and start to learn. After a you get into the code and start filling confortable with the process go the PHP manual, I think that's the best source of information you can find.
Came across this site recently. An Aussie chap's video tutorials. Quite someting else! PHP and cooking tips all in one (wait for lesson 3). www.phpvideotutorials.com
The PHP tutorial is very helpful. I recommend it as your starting point. Read through the tutorial and complete the examples. Then try a few simple scripts. After you are semi-comfortable with the basic language concepts start downloading open source projects and check out the code, change their code around etc. I find it's much easier to learn if you're working on something that you enjoy also.