Recommendations

[Christopher Bergin]

Hi Larry, I wanted to know if you could recommend a good instruction book on Wordpress. One that introduces the reader to the application but also discusses the underlying code that a new programmer such as myself could appreciate. I already purchased one book but it's a little too technical for me at this point in my development. Thanks,

 

Chris Bergin

[rob]

I've used the following book which is excellent:

 

http://www.sitepoint.com/books/wpant1/

[margaux]

Everyone learns differently and I am not really a fan of sitepoint's books but I did take a couple of their online tutorials a year ago which I thought were excellent - javascript live and their php one.

 

I found that once I was confident with php, I could pick up any Wordpress book and work my way through it. My recommendation therefore would be to work your way through Larry's PHP and MySQL for Dynamic Websites book. Then have a look at something like the sitepoint book or Smashing Wordpress.

[Christopher Bergin]

thanks for the tips. I guess I got spoiled learning from the books on this site because they invite the reader to engage in examples and I find that I absorb more knowledge when I can practice it. What I'm looking for is a book that uses the same approach. I have the Programmer To Programmer book for Wordpress and I'll eventually go back to it, but it is mostly a description of the architecture. I'd like something in between to get me to that point. I'll definitely consider the book that you mentioned Rob.

[rob]

Sitepoint allow you to download a sample of the book, which will give you a good idea of the level and style, usually about 4 chapters. Also, I've always found that if you download the sample, between 24/48 hours later, they send you an email with a discount and link.