PHP for Dynamic (Interactive) Pages

PHP  is a open-source (meaning free) server-side scripting language (meaning a simple programming language) that allows you to to build interactive pages that create sophisticated and complex Web applications and external and internal business channels, such as e-commerce sites, corporate portals, and intranets.

What is PHP?

PHP can be mixed right into HTML when you create dynamic Web pages. PHP is an open-source product that you can use, alter, and redistribute without charge.

Dynamic Web pages are pages that interact with users, so that each site visitor sees customized information. In the case of PHP, dynamic also means that data is pulled from a database. Dynamic Web applications are prevalent in commercial (e-commerce) sites, where the content displayed is generated from information that is accessed from a database or other external source.

PHP's structure and syntax is similar to that of C and Perl, making it easy to learn for anyone with basic programming skills. PHP supports only partial encapsulation (such as support for declaring methods and fields in the class) and partial polymorphism (no overloading, no abstraction). With PHP, there is no concept of private, public, or protected functions in classes as well as in the overloading.

Resources to Learn and Use PHP:

• PHPFreaks
• CodingForums
• DesignPlace
• CodeWalkers
• TutorialForums
• StarGeek
• DevScripts
• WeberDev
• Young Coders Forum
• TutorialMan
• TutorialGuide

• PHP Manual
• MySQL Manual
• Smarty Manual
• PEAR Manual
• PHP-GTK Manual

Books - Click on each for reviews and prices

Top Rated PHP Books

Other good books:

Php5 for dummies

PHP & MySQL Everyday Apps For Dummies

Beginning PHP and MySQL 5: From Novice to Professional, Second Edition

PHP 5 Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach

AJAX and PHP: Building Responsive Web Applications

Pro PHP Security (Pro)

SitePoint Books:

Build Your Own Database Driven Website Using PHP & MySQL