Starting

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Hello everyone.
I wan to start PHP. I have idea about HTML and MY SQL server also.But I do not know which software is needed for PHP.Please give me some idea. I have searched many thing in Google. There are lots of things related to PHP. But I can not decided anyy thing as I am a new learner of PHP. Give me instraction for starting PHP.
Thank you.

[broj1]

You need:
1. an editor that helps PHP development. PHP Eclipse (http://www.phpeclipse.com/g) and Netbeans (http://netbeans.org/) are probably most wide spread but for a beginner maybe a little overwhelming. Notepad++ (Windows) and Kwrite, gedit (Linux) are simpler and still powerfull ones.
2. a PHP and mysql enabled web server (can be on your machine or at your ISP). If on your machine try LAMP on Linux (see your distribusion package management) or XAMP (http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html) on Windows) that both contain Apache web server, Mysql database and PHP support.
3. good book to learn (I used PHP5 and MySQL Bible)
4. links: http://www.w3schools.com/php/, www.php.net, daniweb.com :-)

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broj1
Thanks for your reply.

good book to learn (I used PHP5 and MySQL Bible)

What is the writer's name?
What is the full name of this book.
Please reply.
Thank you.

[Jones_nash]

I like to use eclipse to help me developing. try it!

I use XAMPP for Windows 7 - although it's available for most OSes.
My current IDE is Dreamweaver (I hear snorts of derision from purists), but I got it free use from work - buying this is v. expensive. My alternative free IDEs are Notepad++, Bluefish, Aptana, Eclipse (and yes I use them all from time to time - depending on what I'm doing). Bluefish is a new one for me and I like it a lot.

Most books from reputable publishers (Wrox, Apress, O'Reilly) will help. Just go to their websites or try Amazon.

I also find phpmyadmin a clunky mess, so I use a MySQL GUI. I've tried quite a few, but my current fave is SQLyog (community version) - I think Google host it now - you'll have to check.

Be careful with online tutorials - any idiot can write these and there are some real shockers out there. Tutorials, unless on primo sites are not peer-reviewed and can be full of bad practice. Even w3schools has mistakes within the code.

Check the php.net manual and download a local copy. It's useful to know which functions have been deprecated in current versions. E.g. I see a lot of 'old' functions being posted here on Daniweb and it makes me think that posters have either not kept up with the times or they've copied some code from an old site. Deprecated functions can be inefficient, unsecure, poorly supported or even downright dangerous - so do not use them.

The mysql online manual can be a fiddle to use - it's not the most useful I've seen. Have a look for the downloadable .chm (I don't remember where it lives).

Get hosting that supports recent releases of php/mysql. Something like cPanel is extremely useful as you can add FTP accounts, MySQL access etc really easily.

Filezilla is a must-have FTP client. If you want to run a mail (email) server from your own machine (not really recommended for beginners), you can run Mercury Mail (installed with XAMPP).

@Anybody else, feel free to disagree or suggest improvements - I'm just going on personal experience.

[phfilly]

you guys can disagree with me...but it sure helped me!

Start by following the php tutorials on - http://w3schools.com/php/default.asp
It doesn't go into much dept but gives you a good overview!

And then for my database I used mysql.
Then I found this site with all you need php files - It has mysql and apache installed on it and is very easy to use! You only need to download and install it.

Here is the link: http://www.easyphp.org/download.php

Oh and I use SciTE as the text editor- its freeware but not as nifty as the other editors out there but it works!

[broj1]

The information about the book I mentioned: PHP6 and MySQL Bible (PHP 6 is not out yet but the book is OK for PHP 5 too), published by Wiley. Authors are Steve Suehring, Tim converse and Joyce Park. The link on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/PHP6-MySQL-Bible-Steve-Suehring/dp/0470384506

I read this book from cover to cover and gave me realy good insight in PHP so I realy never had a need to look into many other books. Anther one very useful for web development is Scriptin' with JavaScript and Ajax: A Designer's Guide (not exactly PHP but you might need it), writen by Charles Wyke-Smith, see:

http://www.amazon.com/Scriptin-JavaScript-Ajax-Designers-Voices/dp/0321572602/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319009826&sr=1-3

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Thank you all for your reply.