So you want to teach yourself how to program using PHP scripting and you don’t want to spend a lot of money on expensive books to learn the basics. Well, you are in luck! There are a lot of resources on the World Wide Web to help you develop dynamic web sites just as Websitedzyn.com does in New Port Richey Florida. Not all sources will cover all of the aspects of the subject equally. As a result, you will need to use more than one source to provide yourself with a well rounded introduction to PHP scripting. This article will assist you in focusing on some of the best free online sources for PHP e-learning. Let’s dig in and take a look at some of those sites.

The first site that comes to mind, and possibly one of the first you will find is W3Schools.com. W3Schools content is developed and supported by a Norwegian software development and consulting company called Refsnes Data. Their mission is to develop easy to understand online tutorials based on the W3C Web standards. W3schools covers nearly every aspect of web development you may want to learn about; server side/client side scripting, html, css among others are well represented. In addition to the tutorials, they also provide certification in the different areas allowing you to demonstrate proficiency in your chosen area. The PHP tutorial is structured into well defined groups aligned by level of proficiency. Starting with the basics, W3schools walks you through learning the scripting language syntax and programming concepts, progressing through advanced topics, database programming, XML and AJAX. In general, each chapter for the PHP tutorial is well covered, giving easily understood examples to demonstrate the lessons. One area that could use a little more attention is the chapter on working with files. If not programmed properly, it is easy to do considerable damage with improper coding. This site should be your first stop in your quest for PHP knowledge, being one of the most comprehensive and easy to follow tutorials sites on the web.

Another site that will be ranking high in your tutorial search is tizag.com. Again, as with W3schools, tizag covers several areas of web programming such as Javascript, Perl, Ajax, ASP and others. While not as comprehensive and as well categorized by areas of difficulty as W3schools, it is still an excellent complement to the tutorials at W3schools. One exception is the chapter on file handling, (noted above as a weak area for W3schools). Tizag covers the aspects of file handling very well, and highlights the areas where you need to be cautious with this area of PHP programming. Unlike W3schools, tizag does not provide the student with a means to certify your knowledge of PHP if so desired. As you work through the W3schools tutorials, make sure that you visit the similar topic on tizag as you may find a more approachable method, or additional supporting information to round out your learning exercise.

Finally, in a league of its own, PHP.net is the end all, be all function reference for PHP. The official PHP site is not a beginners tool and may not be as tutorial centric as the previously mentioned sites, but it is the authority. The documentation section will provide a complete guide to all things PHP. While not always as approachable as the first two websites, the PHP.net site will most certainly have information on any question you may have and a complete up-to-date listing of recent PHP changes, features, security issues and function references. As you advance in your learning of PHP scripting, PHP.net will become your go to source. Additionally, make sure you check the "getting help" page for additional resources outside of the php.net site such as user groups, training and examples of code.

One final note: None of these sites will provide you with a complete guide to installing PHP, a local server such as Apache and MySQL. Look for sites such as Sourceforge.net for combined installation packages such as WAMP or XAMPP to make setting up PHP and the other necessary supporting software an easier task.

Websitedzyn.com a Tampa web design company uses these resources to assist in the development of the websites it creates for their clients. Reference these free information sites and you will always maintain current standards for your coding. Good luck and good coding.