Want to learn PHP

best way to start

[whatson]

I have had enough of relying on developers all the time, I think its time I learnt this myself.

Any ideas of where to start? Should I get a tutor?
How long does it take to grasp a thorough knowledge of php.

Also how hard is AJAX to learn?

[ogletree]

Do you have any programming experience? If you don't you need to learn basic programming concepts first. There are tons of books and classes on PHP. Lots of them are good. I taught myself PHP but I already knew other languages. All I had to do was search google for stuff like "php if" or "php variable". Also my web host had a lot of code snippets that I could use. Like connecting to a db.

[whatson]

I only know html, and thats about it. I am planning on making quite a complex site, can a beginner still achieve that?

[eelixduppy]

>> can a beginner still achieve that?

Of course.

We have a thread in our library about learning PHP [webmasterworld.com]. Take a look at some of the resources linked to there. Also, your information heaven will be webmasterworld's php forum and [php.net...] for the next couple weeks, so I suggest you get reading :) Here's a good place to start: [php.net...]

[netchicken1]

watson, look for a free system and then mod it. You don't have to reinvent the wheel, and you can learn from (hopefully) good code writers.

Thats how I have best learned php, pulling my forum to pieces and trying to mod it.

[henry0]

In order to practice, learn and then modify/develop
you very first need to setup a PHP MySQL environment
so download and install a good WAMP or XAMP system
(LAMP that has an automated install system for MS machines)
Or you could dedicate a machine to Linux or dual boot Linux/MS on a MS machine.

Welcome to the PHP MySQL world!

[ankithonda]

actually i m not php programmer ..but i think u should start from www.w3schools.com ...in this site ..all webdesign related tutorials gave very systamatically ..

u can aslo got php tutorials there ..

regards