Becoming an Expert PHP Developer: 5 Essential Reads

Jump to the essential reading list!

So you've been staring at your PHP scripts and the thousands of lines of embedded code thinking that this simply can't be the professional way to develop. You've got a firm understanding as to how the PHP interpreter operates, how the web server plays its role and what happens in the request/response operation between the client and server. You've heard of MVC - even that it's a design pattern - and you understand for the most part the concept of an object. You may even have dabbled with some Java code here and there.

But now you've come to realize that hard-coding your database calls over and over is simply a bad way of doing things or that using a ton of if/else statements seems a bit out of place. What you are looking for is a clear path to elevate yourself from grom status to expert PHP developer.

If you've realized that writing a bunch of lines of embedded spaghetti code is downright rubbish, you've already come a long way.

For starters, we have to say that if you've come this far and have realized that writing a bunch of lines of embedded spaghetti code is downright rubbish, you've already come a long way and have elevated yourself above the herd. Give yourself a hand for that.

Unfortunately in the world of PHP, solid, reliable and respectable reading is hard to come by. Most web sites and books dedicated towards "professional" PHP development are filled with horrific coding examples and insecure code - all the while promoting poor development habits. Even the books and sites that do provide some sound PHP advice continually focus on the lowest common denominator by providing one endless beginner guide after another.

Fear not though! Good PHP resources do exist. What we've done here is to provide you with a list of five books and resources that we feel are essential reading for any expert or expert-in-training PHP developer. While this of course is not a comprehensive list; it will give you with a firm foundation provided you have the desire and are willing to take the time to absorb the information. These resources aren't the easiest reads (who said coding was easy?!), but once you've grasped the knowledge, you'll be on your way to coding bliss before you know it.

The list:

1. Our first book in the series is unlike any programming book you will ever come across. Mitch McConnell's Code Complete books are standard issue. Know this book forwards and backwards.
2. Our second book is written straight from the horse's mouth. Gutmans, Bakken and Rethans combine in PHP 5 Power Programming to give you the essential 411 on PHP 5. Make a mental note to fully understand the chapters about PHP 5's object model.
3. By this point you should have a fairly strong grasp of objects, access modifiers, inheritance, encapsulation, etc as they pertain to PHP as well as have an understanding of a few design patterns. Now is the time to put it all together with PHP Objects, Patterns and Practice.
4. Read SitePoint's Top 7 PHP Security Blunders. Then become a stickler for secure programming.
5. Finally, pick up a good book on MySQL (or Postgresql, Oracle, DB2). Sure database books can be dry and boring but remember, most web application bottlenecks happen in or around the database level. Writing efficient SQL and correctly designing table structures goes a long way.

Posted by Team Sevenforty in Web Development