Re: More advanced PHP books
- From: Captain Paralytic <paul_lautman@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 06:35:38 -0800 (PST)
On Jan 5, 2:09 am, Tony Gravagno <tony_grava...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I've been writing software for over 30 years. I can read PHP and make
small tweeks to FOSS but I'm not an accomplished PHP developer. When
I look at FOSS I understand most of what they're doing, but I still
feel like I'm not on top of the game. To me, PHP syntax is just like
any other with semicolons and curly braces. The challenge is knowing
what functions are available to populate the mental toolbox, and
knowing the algorithms where good use of code leads to a fast runtime.
I'm completely on top of Java, JavaScript, and C#, but light on C++
for all of the exact same reasons. PHP is similar, just different.
Given that preamble, can someone recommend books that are beyond the
basics of "What is PHP" and related syntax? I need something that is
still tutorial, still progressive, building upon basic skills. Beyond
the Hello World books, most others jump right into more sophisticated
code, so your stuck looking up a lot of functions as part of trying to
understand the algorithms. Examples of that would include Wicked Cool
PHP and the PHP Cookbook. I need something between those levels that
treat me as an advanced student rather than as a professional refining
his skills.
I don't want a book that focuses on PHP with Dreamweaver MX, MySQL,
security, AJAX, etc. I need to delve into the most important or most
used functions and patterns so that I can work with any general
purpose code. The idea is, I look at PHP code and they do something
"funky". What is that? I know I can learn through the school of hard
knows, lookingup every function as I find it, but I've done that with
over 20 other languages and I'd think there Has to be a better way
with as popular as PHP is.
I have downloaded the manual from the php.net website. But a
reference manual is for reference for someone who is already familiar
functionality, it's not ideal for someone who wants to be fed a
progressively better diet of relevant information. (And no, I don't
have time to go to college classes.) As an example of why a reference
manual is inadequate, the ref tells you what a function does, but
rarely about when you should not use it, or how to use it in a secure
and responsible way. This is what separates amateur hobbiest coders
from the pros, and I'd like the tutelage that an author/mentor can
provide.
If any published author out there wants to write a PHP book that fits
the above description, I have Technical Editor credentials with
several mainstream publishers, and would be honored to assist in the
development of such a book.
Thanks for your time. :)
I may have a couple of books bookmarked in my books24x7 account. When
I can remember the credentials, I'll take a look.
However, I think that the reason you are having problems finding such
a book is that you are asking the wrong question. You state: "a
reference manual is for reference for someone who is already familiar
[with the] functionality", but I don't necessarily agree with the last
word. A reference manual shows me the functionality and the syntax
required to use that functionality. What one needs to be familiar with
is the paradigms of programming and a general understanding of
semantics. Once you know that, a reference manual will tell you how to
implement your program in a particular language. If you ar fluent in
oo concepts, the php manual will tell you how to implement those
concepts in php. A c++ manual will tell you how to do it in c++ and a
COBOL manual will tell you likewise in COBOL (although oo COBOL is no
laughing matter).
.
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