The 14 best PHP Books of all time for beginner programmers

A data-backed answer

🐘

Methodology

There are countless lists on the internet claiming to be the list of must-read PHP books and it seemed that all those lists always recommended that same books minus two or three odd choices.

Finding good resources for learning programming is always tricky. Every-one has its own opinion about what book is the best to learn, and as we say in french, “Color and tastes should not be argued about”.

However I though it would be interesting to trust the wisdom of the crown and to find the books that appeared the most in those “Best PHP Book” lists.

If you want to jump right on the results go take a look below at the full results. If you want to learn about the methodology, bear with me.

I’ve simply asked Google for a few queries like “Best PHP Books” and its variations of. I have then scrapped all those pages (using ScrapingBee, a web scraping API I’m working on).

I’ve deduplicated the links and ended up with nearly 49 links. Using the title of the pages I was also able to quickly discards:

I ended up with almost 45 HTML files. I went on opening all the files on my browser, open my chrome inspector, found and wrote the CSS selector matching book titles in the article. This took me around 1hours, almost 30 seconds per page.

This also allowed me to discard even more nonrelevant pages, and I discarded a lot. In the end I compiled around 27 lists into this one.

Book titles were then extracted with manuel extraction and some web scraping.

I ended up with a huge list of books, not usable without some post-processing.

To find the most quoted PHP books I needed to normalize my results.

I had to play with all the different variation like “{title} by {author}” or “{title} - {author}”.

Or “{title}:{subtitle}” and “{title}”, or even all the one containing edition number.

And afterquite a bit of manual cleaning.

My list now looked like this:

From there it was easy to compute the most recommended books. You can find all the data used to process this list on this repo. Now let’s take a look at the list:

I've also recently used some data from different book sellers in order to not forget important books and try to give more weight to books with incredible reviews.

Results

14
)

PHP: A Step By Step Guide from Beginner to Expert (Learn PHP in 2 Hours and Start Programming Today)

by
Alexander Clyde
4.1
% recommend
🛒   Buy
★★Buy the Paperback Version of this Book and get the Kindle Book version for FREE ★★ Are You Ready To Learn And Start Programming With PHP In 2 Hours? This book includes several sample codes, which have been provided to give you the real-world programming experience. Go ahead and execute these codes for a better learning experience.

The author has an easy and fun style of writing that teaches you PHP in a simple, matter of fact manner while showing you the most common uses of the commands you need to get the job done. This keeps your learning pace quick and uncluttered.Besides this, you may also try variations of code because the best way to learn a programming language is by writing programs in it.

We wish you a fruitful experience. Happy Coding! If you have a working knowledge of HTML, the authors’ many style tips and practical programming advice will help you become a top-notch PHP programmer.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF PHP WHAT IS PHP? PHP FUNCTIONS WHAT CAN PHP DO? Part 1 PHP and programming of functions WHAT DO I NEED? HYPERTEXT MARKING LANGUAGE YOUR FIRST PAGE WITH PHP DEAL WITH FORMS Use the old code in new versions of PHP General installation considerations Part 2 STYLE GUIDE FOR PHP CODING RULES AND PHP CODE GUIDELINES CODING STYLE GUIDE DATA CODING: A UTF-8 GUIDE FOR PHP AND MYSQL Topics Covered- Get an overview of what’s possible with PHP programs Learn language fundamentals, including data types, variables, operators, and flow control statements Understand functions, strings, arrays, and objects Apply common web application techniques, such as form processing, data validation, session tracking, and cookies Interact with relational databases like MySQL or NoSQL databases such as MongoDB Generate dynamic images, create PDF files, and parse XML files Learn secure scripts, error handling, performance tuning, and other advanced topics. Get a quick reference to PHP core functions and standard extensions Get this book now to learn more about PHP
Amazon.com
13
)

PHP for Absolute Beginners

by
Jason Lengstorf & Thomas Blom Hansen
4.9
% recommend
🛒   Buy
PHP is a server-side scripting language that enables you to develop dynamic sites that engage users in ways that are simply not possible using only HTML and CSS. PHP for Absolute Beginners takes a practical approach to teaching you how to build dynamic content for your website using PHP.

You’ll quickly get started with practical PHP projects, learning how to build a dynamic image gallery. By the end of the book you’ll will have developed a personal blog complete with a password protected admin module.

PHP for Absolute Beginners won't swamp you with every detail of the full PHP language up front – instead, you’ll be introduced to a small, versatile subset of PHP and learn to use it creatively to develop dynamic web sites. In the process you will learn to use variables, control structures, functions, and objects to your advantage.

You will learn how to plan and create databases and how to organize your PHP scripts beautifully. At the end of the book, you will be a confident PHP user, ready to take the next steps in creating great websites.
Amazon.com
12
)

PHP: A BEGINNER'S GUIDE

by
Vikram Vaswani
5.3
% recommend
🛒   Buy
Publisher's Note: Products purchased from Third Party sellers are not guaranteed by the publisher for quality, authenticity, or access to any online entitlements included with the product. Essential Skills--Made Easy! Learn how to build dynamic, data-driven Web applications using PHP.

Covering the latest release of this cross-platform, open-source scripting language, PHP: A Beginner's Guide teaches you how to write basic PHP programs and enhance them with more advanced features such as MySQL and SQLite database integration, XML input, and third-party extensions. This fast-paced tutorial provides one-stop coverage of software installation, language syntax and data structures, flow control routines, built-in functions, and best practices
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11
)

PHP Programming for Beginners: Programming Concepts. How to use PHP with MySQL and Oracle databases (MySqli, PDO)

by
Sergey Skudaev
5.4
% recommend
🛒   Buy
Want to build an interactive website using PHP with MySQL or Oracle database? This book is for you, even if you are new to computer programming. In this book, you will learn key programming concepts that are essential for any programming language and find practical solutions that can be used for your own website.

The book covers the following key topics: Declaration of variables Basic operators Comparison operators Function Variable scope Static variable Passing parameters by value or by reference Useful string functions PHP array functions The for loop The foreach loop The while loop If else statement Switch statement List Multidimensional arrays How to use $_GET and $_POST methods How to pass $_GET parameters to a modeless Popup $_COOKIE & $_SESSION Useful PHP date and time functions Working with files Upload file PHP code example How to draw and display Rectangle, Polygon, Graph, Pie Graph How to draw a Caption on the image. Display images from a directory on your web page PHP Object Oriented Programming MySQL installation and administration Creating users, database and tables in MySQL The simplest page view counter - PHP code example PHP code to display data from MySQL table Using MySQli to access MySQL Using PDO with MySQL PHP form with an array of fields Sending email PHP code example User registration and authentication using PDO Output data from MySQL to excel file Functional programming Migrating from MySQL to Oracle Using OCI and PDO to access the Oracle database Call Oracle procedures or function Installation of the Apache and PHP on Windows Apache - Virtual server setup Installation of the XAMPP server on Windows Using the XAMPP Shell Installation of Oracle Express edition on windows Get Your Copy Today!
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10
)

PHP 6/MySQL Programming for the Absolute Beginner

by
Andrew B. Harris
5.4
% recommend
🛒   Buy
If you are new to programming with PHP 6 and MySQL and are looking for a solid introduction, this is the book for you. Developed by computer science instructors, books in the for the absolute beginner� series teach the principles of programming through simple game creation.

You will acquire the skills that you need for more practical programming applications and will learn how these skills can be put to use in real-world scenarios. Everything you need to complete the tutorials is on the companion CD�there�s no software to buy and you can get started right away
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9
)

PHP: The Complete Guide for Beginners,Intermediate and Advanced Detailed Approach To Master PHP Programming

by
MG Martin
5.4
% recommend
🛒   Buy
Discover the power of PHP as you take your web development skills to the next level. PHP is the most common programming language for server-side web development.

One of the best things about this language is that it is fairly easy to learn. This Book will cover all from Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced Strategies to enhance your PHP skills.

Inside you will find and discover all you need: PHP: Basic Fundamental Guide for Beginners How you can set up your PHP environment How you can easily input PHP values for web users Learn more about operators, expressions, arrays, and the variables in PHP Discover the power of conditional statements Discover how to insert, delete, and update data in a database Learn how to secure your passwords in PHP How to build a complete member registration system PHP: A Comprehensive Intermediate Guide to Learn the Concept of PHP Programming How to use restful APIs in PHP Create PHP Graphics How to read, write, append and delete files in PHP How you can prevent hackers from intruding your site Discuss PHP sessions and cookies Advanced OOP-Classes, Methods and objects PHP: Advanced Detailed Approach To Master PHP Programming Language for Web Development Design patterns Building a great API PHP coding styles Smarty templates Object-oriented programming And many more. Are you ready to launch your PHP coding skills to the next level?
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8
)

Programming for Beginners: 6 Books in 1 - Swift+PHP+Java+Javascript+Html+CSS: Basic Fundamental Guide for Beginners

by
MG Martin & William Bahl & MGC Publishing
5.6
% recommend
🛒   Buy
Are you looking forward to learning computer programming? No matter your skill level, this powerful blueprint six books in one will get the ball rolling to help you begin and start up with this basic fundamental guide for beginners. SWIFT is designed to help new starters learn Swift programming and build a strong foundation in fundamentals of using Swift.

In this book, you will get a practical experience of how to code in Swift language, techniques, tools, and concepts to help you obtain the basic skills Swift. PHP is a fast-paced book perfect for PHP beginners who want to master the art of writing quality PHP code.

Have a close look at the loops, decisions, functions, and a whole lot more. You will also discover the basic syntax that’s applied when writing PHP applications.

Are you curious to learn how PHP works? Fortunately, this book is designed for beginners like you. JAVA: You will develop knowledge about object-oriented programming, data types, and how to use control statements in Java.

You will learn more than what you need to code in Java. JAVASCRIPT: It’s an extremely popular language that’s used in most web applications.

JavaScript is one of the best possible things you can learn in the age of the modern Internet, and you’re inevitably going to end up using the knowledge constantly. HTML: Using the Internet would be a vastly different experience, so it’s no wonder that so many people opt to learn the markup language.

Whether you decide to explore HTML as a hobby or for use in a more professional setting, you’ll soon gain a deep appreciation for the language and its applications. CSS: Whether you’re exploring CSS to complement a hobby or to advance your career, this book will allow you to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for its applications
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7
)

Laravel: Up & Running: A Framework for Building Modern PHP Apps

by
Matt Stauffer
10.2
% recommend
🛒   Buy
What sets Laravel apart from other PHP web frameworks? Speed and simplicity, for starters. This rapid application development framework and its ecosystem of tools let you quickly build new sites and applications with clean, readable code.

Fully updated to cover Laravel 5.8, the second edition of this practical guide provides the definitive introduction to one of today’s mostpopular web frameworks. Matt Stauffer, a leading teacher and developer in the Laravel community, delivers a high-level overview and concrete examples to help experienced PHP web developers get started with this framework right away.

This updated edition also covers Laravel Dusk and Horizon and provides information about community resources and other noncore Laravel packages. Dive into features, including: Blade, Laravel’s powerful custom templating tool Tools for gathering, validating, normalizing, and filtering user-provideddata The Eloquent ORM for working with application databases The role of the Illuminate request object in the application lifecycle PHPUnit, Mockery, and Dusk for testing your PHP code Tools for writing JSON and RESTful APIs Interfaces for filesystem access, sessions, cookies, caches, and search Tools for implementing queues, jobs, events, and WebSocket event publishing
Amazon.com
6
)

Murach's PHP and MySQL (3rd Edition)

by
Joel Murach & Ray Harris & Anne Boehm
11.3
% recommend
🛒   Buy
"I can't count how many PHP books I have purchased over the years trying to learn the language. Murach's was the first book that helped me grasp the concepts and got me onto actually scripting in PHP." That's what one developer posted on the first edition of Murach's PHP and MySQL.

Now, this 3rd Edition does a better-than-ever job of delivering the skills you need to develop database-driven websites using PHP and MySQL, the way today's top web professionals do. Section 1 is a quick-start course that shows how to use the latest versions of PHP, MySQL (or MariaDB), and the Apache web server to build your first PHP applications.

Right from the start, you'll learn to create applications that conform to the MVC pattern, so they'll be easier to maintain as they grow. In addition, you'll learn how to create applications that prevent SQL injection attacks and guard against XSS attacks.

Section 2 takes you deeper into PHP by covering the skills you'll use every day, like how to work with form data, dates, arrays, sessions, cookies, functions, objects, regular expressions, and exceptions. Likewise, Section 3 dives into MySQL, teaching you how to design and create a database, as well as how to access and maintain database data from your PHP programs.

Finally, Section 4 teaches you important web programming skills like how to secure web pages, send email, upload files, and process images. Along the way, you'll find out how to take advantage of PHP 7 enhancements like scalar data type declarations and improved error handling, as well as new operators and functions.

Complete sample applications and chapter exercises provide training support throughout. A great choice for any developer who wants to master PHP without a lot of frustration and unnecessary expense.
Amazon.com
5
)

PHP and MySQL for Dynamic Web Sites: Visual QuickPro Guide

by
Larry Ullman
11.9
% recommend
🛒   Buy
When it comes to creating dynamic, database-driven Web sites, the PHP language and MySQL database offer a winning combination -- and with PHP 7, web professionals can achieve dramatic performance improvements. Combine these great open source technologies with Larry Ullman's PHP and MySQL for Dynamic Web Sites: Visual QuickPro Guide, Fifth Edition, and there's no limit to the powerful, interactive Web sites you can create.

With step-by-step instructions, complete scripts, and expert tips to guide you, Ullman gets right down to business. After grounding you with practical introductions to both PHP 7 and MySQL, he covers core issues ranging from security to session management to jQuery and object-oriented programming techniques
Amazon.com
4
)

The Joy of PHP: A Beginner's Guide to Programming Interactive Web Applications with PHP and mySQL

by
Alan Forbes
13.7
% recommend
🛒   Buy
Third Edition now with bonus chapters.Have you ever wanted to design your own website or browser application but thought it would be too difficult or just didn't know where to start? Have you found the amount of information on the Internet either too daunting or not geared for your skill set or worse-- just plain boring? Are you interested in learning to program PHP and have some fun along the way? If so, then The Joy of PHP by Alan Forbes is the book for you!! Alan starts with some basic HTML so the absolute beginner can catch up quickly and then goes step by step on how PHP works. You start with the easy stuff--like how to create and run simple PHP scripts that modify web pages-- and then build on what you've learned through a series of cohesive (and fun) exercises that carry over from lesson to lesson.

As the chapters progress you begin to build a web site for a growing used car dealership business. This approach keeps the material fun and challenging-- and gives what you've learned a context to be relevant.

A car dealership needs a constantly changing web site because the inventory of cars is always changing. HTML is not the answer for this kind of web site-- but PHP and mySQL are! Throughout the book you will be working with the web site for the car dealership and adding features and modifying it as the needs of the business (and your knowledge) grow.

This writing style reinforces the previous lessons and keeps you engaged in a "real" project -- giving you both a sense of accomplishment and an opportunity to apply what you've learned to a realistic scenario. You are far more likely to retain what you've learned using this approach than just reading dry syntax documentation.

The author has an easy and fun style of writing that teaches you PHP in a simple, matter of fact manner while showing you the most common uses of the commands you need to get the job done. This keeps your learning pace quick and uncluttered.

If you need it, he also points you to several resources where you can learn more about the other options a PHP function can offer and-- even better--how to read and understand those resources. If you want to learn the PHP language in an easy, enjoyable, well laid out manner and to learn why PHP and mySQL are so powerful and fun to use then buy this book!! Do not buy this book if you are looking for a comprehensive reference of boring PHP syntax.

This book does not attempt to cover everything about PHP. What it does do-- and does well-- is take you from being a beginner who isn't even sure what PHP is to someone who knows the sheer joy that only programming dynamic sites can provide.

You will become someone who can read, write, and modify PHP scripts and you will be able make your website come alive. Bonus Code All the source code referenced in the book is available for easy download and well organized.

You don't have to cut and paste out of Kindle or retype code, unless you want to. There is even a video tutorial showing how to get started.

Topics Covered... - Installing and configuring PHP - Introduction to HTML - Basic PHP Syntax - Some Fun Right Away - Editors and Staying Organized - Variables, Numbers, Dates and Strings - Control Structures - How to use a database, such as mySQL - Using PHP and mySQL Together - How to create forms to Display, Add, Edit, and Delete data - Session Variables - Working with Images - PHP File Uploads - PHP Quirks and Tips - Security Considerations This book is NOT the only book you'll ever need to read to master PHP.

The book is a gentle introduction to a very rich topic. The hope of the author is to show you that PHP isn't really that scary after all, it is something YOU can do, and it can even bring you joy once you get it.
Amazon.com
3
)

Web Coding & Development All-in-One For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))

by
Paul McFedries
15.2
% recommend
🛒   Buy
Speak the languages that power the web With more high-paying web development jobs opening every day, people with coding and web/app building skills are having no problems finding employment. If you’re a would-be developer looking to gain the know-how to build the interfaces, databases, and other features that run modern websites, web apps, and mobile apps, look no further.

Web Coding & Development All-in-One For Dummies is your go-to interpreter for speaking the languages that handle those tasks. Get started with a refresher on the rules of coding before diving into the languages that build interfaces, add interactivity to the web, or store and deliver data to sites.

When you're ready, jump into guidance on how to put it all together to build a site or create an app. Get the lowdown on coding basics Review HTML and CSS Make sense of JavaScript, jQuery, PHP, and MySQL Create code for web and mobile apps There’s a whole world of opportunity out there for developers―and this fast-track boot camp is here to help you acquire the skills you need to take your career to new heights!
Amazon.com
2
)

Learning PHP, MySQL & JavaScript: With jQuery, CSS & HTML5 (Learning PHP, MYSQL, Javascript, CSS & HTML5)

by
Robin Nixon
23.7
% recommend
🛒   Buy
Build interactive, data driven websites with the potent combination of open source technologies and web standards, even if you have only basic HTML knowledge. In this update to this popular hands on guide, you’ll tackle dynamic web programming with the latest versions of today’s core technologies: PHP, MySQL, JavaScript, CSS, HTML5, and key jQuery libraries.

Web designers will learn how to use these technologies together and pick up valuable web programming practices along the way—including how to optimize websites for mobile devices. At the end of the book, you’ll put everything together to build a fully functional social networking site suitable for both desktop and mobile browsers
Amazon.com
1
)

SQL QuickStart Guide: The Simplified Beginner's Guide to Managing, Analyzing, and Manipulating Data With SQL

by
Walter Shields
37.2
% recommend
🛒   Buy
"THE BEST SQL BOOK FOR BEGINNERS IN 2021 - HANDS DOWN!" *INCLUDES FREE ACCESS TO A SAMPLE DATABASE, SQL BROWSER APP, COMPREHENSION QUIZZES & SEVERAL OTHER DIGITAL RESOURCES!* *| #1 NEW RELEASE & #1 BEST SELLER |* Not sure how to prepare for the data-driven future? This book shows you EXACTLY what you need to know to successfully use the SQL programming language to enhance your career! Are you a developer who wants to expand your mastery to database management? Then you NEED this book. Buy now and start reading today! Are you a project manager who needs to better understand your development team’s needs? A decision maker who needs to make deeper data-driven analysis? Everything you need to know is included in these pages! The ubiquity of big data means that now more than ever there is a burning need to warehouse, access, and understand the contents of massive databases quickly and efficiently.

That’s where SQL comes in. SQL is the workhorse programming language that forms the backbone of modern data management and interpretation.

Any database management professional will tell you that despite trendy data management languages that come and go, SQL remains the most widely used and most reliable to date, with no signs of stopping. In this comprehensive guide, experienced mentor and SQL expert Walter Shields draws on his considerable knowledge to make the topic of relational database management accessible, easy to understand, and highly actionable.

SQL QuickStart Guide is ideal for those seeking to increase their job prospects and enhance their careers, for developers looking to expand their programming capabilities, or for anyone who wants to take advantage of our inevitably data-driven future—even with no prior coding experience! SQL QuickStart Guide Is For: Professionals looking to augment their job skills in preparation for a data-driven future Job seekers who want to pad their skills and resume for a durable employability edge Beginners with zero prior experience Managers, decision makers, and business owners looking to manage data-driven business insights Developers looking to expand their mastery beyond the full stack Anyone who wants to be better prepared for our data-driven future! In SQL QuickStart Guide You'll Discover: The basic structure of databases—what they are, how they work, and how to successfully navigate them How to use SQL to retrieve and understand data no matter the scale of a database (aided by numerous images and examples) The most important SQL queries, along with how and when to use them for best effect Professional applications of SQL and how to “sell” your new SQL skills to your employer, along with other career-enhancing considerations * LIFETIME ACCESS TO SQL RESOURCES *Each book comes with free lifetime access to tons of exclusive online resources to help you master SQL, such as workbooks, cheat sheets and reference guides. * GIVING BACK : *ClydeBank Media proudly supports the non-profit AdoptAClassroom whose mission is to advance equity in K-12 education by supplementing dwindling school funding for vital classroom materials and resources.* Scroll Up To The Top Of The Page And Click The Orange "Buy Now" Icon On The Right Side, Right Now!
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Conclusion

I hope that you liked this list. Please do not hesitate to check out the other ones I've published.

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