PHP and MySQL for Dynamic Web Sites: Visual QuickPro Guide. Larry Ullman

Larry Ullman's books are classics of PHP programming. His approach is very effective: for each topic or area, the author provides numerous examples of the use of PHP. Of course, this guide is far from the best practices, but it covers all the necessary topics for a novice developer.

The book covers the following topics:
✔ the basics of PHP;
✔ basics of working with MySQL;
✔ complex SQL queries;
✔ error and exception handling;
✔ cookies and sessions;
✔ application security basics;
✔ the basics of JQuery;
✔ the basics of OOP;
✔ user authentication and more.

Advantages:
➕ relevant material on the topic;
➕ practical approach.

Disadvantages:
➖ there are no examples of working with PDO in this edition.