[Hall of Famer]

I very like the books recommended by Kyttias, especially the three PHP books. When I got started several years ago, I was reading Matt Zandstra's PHP objects, patterns and practice. A much older edition, at the time when the code was PHP 5.2. The newer version should include many new features all the way up till PHP 5.5, it should be good to learn for aspiring programmers. Also note Mysidia has its own API that may confuse coders who are very used to vanilla PHP. In that case, feel free contacting me if you need help.