i intend to learn some PHP over the summer to get ahead of myself for uni. I had a java for dummies book, and i have to say, the reading list is impressive, as an encyclopedia of knowledge the dummies books work. BUT for learning how to program they suck egg. Nowhere near enough examples of coding to be had.

Anyway What i'm after is a nice book on PHP (or a couple) with a "fairly" broad range of material (from beginner stuff to the more advanced mostly general purpose stuff)

If anyone knows of any books like this which could be helpful (i'm probably buying through amazon.co.uk) it'd be appreciated, I'm looking for books like this on Java, PHP and C++ so i'm gonna copy pretty much this same message to those boards

The only books I've read in regard to php have been Professional PHP5, Begining Ajax and PHP, and Zend Certification Guide.

All are good reads, with Pro PHP5 being the best, however nothing groundbreaking.

Whatever you pick up, make sure it starts with a basic primer, but focuses a lot on OOP, and make sure it is for PHP5.

The only book I ever pick up now and then out of that collection is ProPHP5. Most of the time I use google, and php.net to learn more.

Also try places like the Zend Dev Zone for more tutorials and material. Zend also has a number of webcasts on their site.

PHP Architect is worth mentioning as well.

The place I began learning php was at www.tizag.com It's a very well put together tutorial that takes you from beginning to advanced topics.

However, if you're looking to get ahead for uni, I would highly recommend focusing your summer reading on Java, C and C++. If you're just beginning University you'll first have to learn C, then move on to Java, and then C++. That's the track at my college at least. I would highly recommend www.cprogramming.com for learning C and beginning C++. The basics are easy, but really pay attention to pointers and memory allocation if you're just beginning, and data structures for the advanced stuff. Specifically in data structures make sure you understand linked lists, stacks, queues and hash tables. If you know all that by the end of the summer you'll have no problems making it through your first Intro to Programming class and Comp Sci I class.

Hope that helps out!

Andrew