Murach's PHP and MySQL (3rd Edition)

This book starts from the very basics, explaining what PHP is, and why you might want to develop with this; then gradually works through the process of setting up a web site. As you progress through the chapters, new features are added at logical steps, leading to a good understanding of both PHP and MySQL.

Once you are passed the very first chapter, the standard Murach format is followed: description of the new feature on the left-hand-page, and example code on the right. This makes it very simple to see how a function would be used in real life.

This is designed with latest versions of PHP and MySQL, but there are extensive details in the back of the book that detail what has changed between versions, which is very useful if you have to maintain legacy code or are trying to migrate it.

There is also extensive coverage on the different ways to connect to different databases, and how to debug your programs as you work on them.

Likewise the back of the book describes how to set up PHP and MySQL for the three main platforms - Mac, Windows, and Linux.

It is interesting to note that this explicitly mentions MySQL in the title, and throughout the book, even though the authors ended up using MariaDB. This should not dissuade anyone from this book though

This is a very good book, and I highly recommend it. I give this book 10 out of 10 horseshoes.

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Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for writing this review on behalf of CodeRanch.