CSS, PHP & HTML Books

muttclugg · 27 Jan 2009 at 19:01

Evening folks. I'll be looking to get some books on the above topics to get me going in getting some web development skills under my belt. I've got a simple understanding of HTML and CSS but it is only simple.

I know theres plenty of information on the internet (w3schools.com etc) but I personnally find I learn better from a book rather than the internet.

Any suggestions then?

AHarvey · 27 Jan 2009 at 20:13

Look at the Head First series of books, there should be a PHP one out soon.

Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML

http://headfirstlabs.com/books/hfhtml/

Head First PHP & MySQL

http://headfirstlabs.com/books/hfphp/

oh, and Head First Web Design

http://headfirstlabs.com/books/hfwd/

HTML is very good and if the others are half as good I will be very impressed! Didn't realise the PHP one was out yet so think I will be placing an order shortly

malef!c · 27 Jan 2009 at 20:26

I like the layout of Sams and Oreilly books for this type of thing.
The O'reilly 'CSS: The Missing Manual' is, in my opinion, very good.

unwashed potato! · 27 Jan 2009 at 21:20

do you really need a book? seeing as you want to do stuff online it makes sense that you take advantage of it and learn from online for free

muttclugg · 27 Jan 2009 at 21:22

muttclugg said:
...plenty of information on the internet (w3schools.com etc) but I personnally find I learn better from a book rather than the internet.

malef!c · 27 Jan 2009 at 21:35

Depends if you want to learn whilst flying or sat on a train whilst the 3G continuosly drops out every 2.383625790373447597 seconds of the journey

I like online for quickness if you are hammering something out, but a nice reading session never harmed anyone.

Books, mention books and you young uns look at us as if we were daft

AHarvey · 27 Jan 2009 at 21:39

Books are far superior to web based tutorials.

To start with you can read it anywhere, and you can easily see when it was published to see if it was up to date.

Relapse · 6 Feb 2009 at 23:40

The Headfirst series aren't for everyone. They are full of puzzles and memory excercises and aren't at all concise or well indexed.

for HTML, I prefer O'Reilly's book "HTML & XHTML: the Definitive Guide", by Musciano and Kennedy. Unfortunately, this contains a lot of HTML legacy information.

I can't recommend a PHP book, but O'Reilly's "CSS: The Missing Manual" is good.

suarve · 7 Feb 2009 at 00:04

Personally like the Wrox series of books, if you need stuff explaining. But I equally like Sams, as it gets the point straight way, without any crud

AHarvey · 7 Feb 2009 at 00:24

I've used the Headfirst books for getting a decent grounding, it sticks in your head which I find makes it easier when moving on to the more in depth books (Wrox & Sams).

But as said, its different strokes for different folks. Best bet is to try and find some samples from the books and see which suits you best

intellix · 7 Feb 2009 at 23:38

AHarvey said:
Books are far superior to web based tutorials.

To start with you can read it anywhere, and you can easily see when it was published to see if it was up to date.

Can't find when something is published online?

You can copy and paste from web tutorials where you can't from a book

howthe · 8 Feb 2009 at 00:35

intellix said:
Can't find when something is published online?

A lot of online resources are out of date, or poorly updated.

You can copy and paste from web tutorials where you can't from a book

And how is that a bonus? Most people learn from having to type the code out as it sinks in better.

Most books from Wrox, OReilly and Sams are generally very good. Not used any on the subject matter so can't comment.

thepharcyde · 8 Feb 2009 at 12:56

for dummies. It's what I have 8 books in one with a CD full of examples from the book etc

t31os · 8 Feb 2009 at 14:18

Book VS online guides... think that debate has been done over and over...

Books great, you can take them around with you, but you can't practice the code there and then unless you carry a laptop with you.... and for some the code might not stick unless put into practice...

I'm one of the those people, so i learn from reading online...

You can't really say that 'online guides are outdated', that's just crud, new guides come out all the time.

Books outdate to, so i can use that same point on books....

Of course i know a good handful of people who do the opposite and learn from books. They prefer books, it's just what they like....

There's no right way to do it, just do it the way that suits you... no way is 'better'... only preferred....

O'Reilly books would get my vote, as these are what i have recommended to me...

I've brought a couple of Dummie books (i fell asleep within a few pages)... so i can't recommend them...

AHarvey · 8 Feb 2009 at 15:56

t31os said:
You can't really say that 'online guides are outdated', that's just crud, new guides come out all the time.

Books outdate to, so i can use that same point on books....

My point wasn't that books dont become outdated too, but that it is extremely easy to see when a book was published.

Yes online guides do come out all the time, however the old ones aren't always removed and that makes it difficult to see which one is the most up to date.