In this article, we've listed 8 free PHP books that can help you to learn new approaches to solving problems and keep your skill up to date.
Practical PHP Testing
This book is aimed at advanced php developers and is comprised of articles from the author's Practical PHP Testing blog series. It includes a chapter about test-driven developement(TDD), code samples and a number of exercises after each chapter.
PHP Reference: Beginner to Intermediate
The book covers the basics of PHP and is a handy resource to keep around as a reference. It shows you how to use operators, structures, variables, functions, working with databases and much more, with great and easy to understand explanations, including a number of examples for each topic. Although it is written for PHP5, almost everything still applies for PHP7 thanks to the language's backwards compatibility.
Domain-Driven Desing in PHP
Domain Driven Design is an approach for modeling complex software projects to reflect real-world systems. It is a technique that is especially popular in the Java and .Net world, but this book gives you a practical introduction to DDD in PHP. It is a great resource for intermediate and advanced developers.
PHP 7 from Scratch
PHP 7 From Scratch is a book for total beginners that explains basic properties of the language, setting up a development environment, using built-in functions and constructing a simple web page. At the end of every chapter, there are additional exercises you may do to further your understanding.
PHP: The Right Way
PHP: The Right Way is a great tool for learning PHP. It teaches you best practices, dependency injection, working with databases, testing and much more, including links to external reading materials and tutorials. It is translated in many different languages like English, German, Spanish, French and many more.
Laravel: Code Smart
Laravel: Code Smart is a great introduction to Laravel, one of the most popular php frameworks. It is easy to read and understand, has great examples and shows you some of the best practices used in Laravel. The book is great for beginners and it teaches you how to set up a new project from scratch and build on it using the powerful features of the framework.
Survive the Deep End: PHP Security
This book will show you how to improve the security of your app. It includes in-depth explanations of some of the most used security attacks, comprehensive examples and gives you advice on how to protect your application from them.
PHP Pandas
This book is for beginners and intermediate developers who want to learn something new or improve their skills. It is an easy read, and covers everything from the fundamentals of the language to building large PHP applications. Each chapter includes very detailed explanations with some easy to understand examples.
