PHP and MySQL Web Development
by Luke Welling, Laura Thomson
Extremely useful - This is a very useful book. If you're a web developer, and you're starting out with PHP, it will do wonders. It covers many important things such as creating a successful shopping cart, web based e-mail, web forums, and working with files such as PDF and images. What I enjoy most about this book is that it teaches you PHP and MySQL in a very coherent manner. In the beginning, it has a thorough introduction to PHP and its list of functions and it even covers PHP classes. It does this in a clean and understandable manner that is easy to follow. The chapters on MySQL and databases are also well put together. It covers the theory and implementation rather well using real world examples. Overall, it's an excellent book. If you're already a programmer, you'll fly through the chapters without any hassle.