PHP Percolate!, our self-study group for beginners, is returning for Season 4. If you would like to learn PHP from the ground up, consider joining us. Tell your friends and co-workers to join in the fun.
The format of a virtual self-study group is as follows:
Note: There is no classroom instruction. There are no webcasts. There are no scheduled appointments of any kind. However, Percolate! Coffee Clubs have been known to spring up like food trucks in various Boston area communities. These Percolate! Coffee Clubs are informal gatherings set up by PHP Percolate! participants.
How do I get started?
Full disclosure: Boston PHP Meetup receives a small commission on each sale which helps fund Meetup activities.

When your book arrives, start your virtual learning by reading one chapter at a time, completing the exercises and posting a link to your completed work.
FAQs:
Q: How long will the course last?
A: We will cover 13 chapters in the book, so 13 weeks starting September 9 and ending December 8. Refer to the PHP Percolate! Season 4 Master Discussion List for specific dates.
Q: Do I have to wait until September 9 to begin?
A: No need to wait. Feel free to begin by reading the Introduction once you obtain a copy of your book and proceed at a pace that best fits your current work/life situation.
Q: What if I have additional questions?
A: Simply post a reply below and you will receive a response.
Let's start percolating!
Gene Babon
Chief Percolator!
Unfortunately, I don't think I will be able to finish--I can't make the SQL parts in Chapters 12 & 13 work and I just don't have time to troubleshoot right now (new stuff to manage at work, holidays coming up...). I'm sad I won't get to be listed on the Wall of Accomplishment after getting so close, but it has still been really useful. I learned a lot, and appreciate the encouragement. One day I hope I'll make it to a physical event!
December 12
Very helpful. It was good to have the motivation of the group project to keep working on the chapter exercises each week.
1 · December 12
I'm really grateful for the announced extension... I made it as far as chapter 9 and life got in the way... but I don't want to give it up, so I'm still gonna try to finish up, including posts to the chapter discussions.
Not sure if I can complete it in the next 3 weeks. But glad for the opportunity. It's been a good experience.
1 · December 9
I thought it was terrific! It could have used some physical meetups and/or more Q&A
1 · December 1
I enjoyed the process and hope to continue this PHP adventure.
1 · November 28
Excellent experience, Gene and Tom did a great job running things, very good book. Liked it all so much I finished it in five weeks and hope for more.
1 · October 8
It was a fantastic learning experience. Thanks to the leadership team for organizing this activity and providing such a great environment that facilitates self-study tremendously. The chosen textbook is excellent. It is well organized and paced with sufficient information for PHP beginners, very suitable for self-study. Working through all the examples in the book is a very effective way to learn (at least speaking for myself). I look forward to Percolating again, in Season 5!
October 4
This course was a phenomenally great introduction to PHP. The book is an excellent introductory text. Working through all the examples delivers a great educational experience.
October 1
Hi,
thanks, I have already done the book and the exercises, it was inspiring for me to see the discussion. I will be tackling David Power's PHP Solutions next.
But what I am looking for is a language without dollar signs - why put a variable with a dollar sign - the dollar might change it's value...
Joke aside, haven't the bankers done enough damage and killed and illed us? I am looking for a server side or client side language that is equivalent to PHP, I think it is a great language that could be made better.
September 7
Hi, is it too late to join this self-study? I just had the pleasure of editing a php site and wanted to learn more, intensively and quickly.
1 · September 23
Hi Marcy,
Welcome aboard. You are now on the e-mail list. Check out the most recent weekly update here ...
Week 2: PHP Percolate! Season 4
http://ow.ly/dRmo3
Plenty of time to get caught up. The season just started.
Gene Babon
Chief Percolator
September 20
Would you add me to the mailing list as well. I would like to work through the book. I am a designer.
1 · September 20
Hi all, started reading the book and did the initial setup. Running Windows 7 with a Mowes portable server. I use the Mowes server for Wordpress development as well because it is easy with no system installation and auto configuration. Not sure where to post assignments?
September 10
@Percolators -- Sunday, September 9 marks the official beginning of PHP Percolate! Season 4. Meetup.com may decide to send you a "How was PHP Percolate!?" e-mail because typical Meetups begin and end on the same day. Feel free to ignore. You'll get a chance to evaluate the program when we officially conclude in December.
You will receive an official "Let's Start Percolating" e-mail from me by the end of the day on Sunday. Until then, rest up and get a good night's sleep.
Gene Babon
Chief Percolator
September 8
If you guys liked this and are looking for more, please check out my Kickstarter project "The Joy of PHP Programming"
http://www.kickstarter.com/proj...![]()
So far it's only half funded, but if I get enough "votes of confidence", I'll be committed to delivering it. I am really liking PHP and want to share the fun.
September 8
Finished chapter one and the exercises. So far so good. Looking forward to Sunday.
1 · September 6
Just starting, I’m running XAMPP on a Windows 7 laptop, using Dreamweaver as my editor and FileZilla as my FTP. Chapters 1 and 2 exercises are finished, the results may be found at http://kevinrsletten.com/kevin_...
.
1 · September 4
@Percolators -- Thanks for posting updates. Just a quick reminder that the most efficient way for us to track everyone's progress is to post updates for the Introduction and each Chapter in the appropriate discussion area. Here is a Master Discussion List that everyone should bookmark and refer to each time you post an update ...
http://www.bostonphp.org/messag...![]()
For example, all Introductions should be posted here ...
http://www.bostonphp.org/messag...![]()
All Chapter 1 updates should be posted here ...
http://www.bostonphp.org/messag...![]()
Thanks,
Tom Pettingill
Senior Percolator
Gene Babon
Chief Percolator
September 5
Probably shouldn't admit this, but I'm a season 1 and season 2 drop-out! Just had trouble making time... hoping 3rd time is the charm. I'll be developing using MAMP on my iMac.
1 · September 5
I'm currently developing a website with Hostgator. I need lot of PHP support.
1 · September 4
Just starting, I’m running XAMPP on a Windows 7 laptop, using Dreamweaver as my editor and FileZilla as my FTP. Chapters 1 and 2 exercises are finished, the results may be found here.
1 · September 4
I took an excellent PHP course at Harvard extension school several years ago (2009), but I could use a refresher/update.
2 · September 3
FYI, I've just moved my completed exercises site from one of my GoDaddy hosting sites to my own, in-house, test server, but they are still available for view from the links I've posted here in the discussions for lessons 1-13 (I changed the DNS record for gomelez.com to point to the new location). This move initially broke a few things which I have (mostly) fixed already. I also disabled a couple of things (e.g. calls to phpinfo() and such) for reasons of security.
I did find, by the way, that someone had already uploaded a malicious script (Trojan horse PHP/Backdoor.AG with a filename of iahoula.php) via the Chapter 11 (Script 11.3) file uploads exercise file. That just emphasizes some of the comments I've made along the way about the need to be careful about some of the practice scripts in the book. Some of them really ought not to be made available for public access!
1 · August 27
Just bought the PHP for the Web. Looking forward to adding to my current skill set. Woo hoo! PHP!
August 16
@Percolators! -- Terrific news to report. Larry Ullman has agreed to join us for PHP Percolate! Season 4. Larry is the author of PHP for the Web along with 21 other Web technology books.
We can call on Larry occasionally to help us with questions we might have about our chosen text book. We will not abuse the privilege. Larry is a busy man. Check out his prolific body of work ...
http://www.larryullman.com/book...![]()
I already see possibilities for PHP Percolate! Season 5 ...
PHP and MySQL for Dynamic Web Sites
Effortless E-Commerce with PHP and MySQL
Welcome aboard, Larry!
2 · August 9
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