Learning a new language (programming or otherwise) can be a bit overwhelming. Many people just don't know where to start and give up before they even begin. Learning PHP is NOT as overwhelming as it might seem, I promise you. Just take it one step at a time, and before you know it you'll be off and running. Now you can finally get started learning PHP! The first thing you should read is our PHP Basics tutorial. This will take you through creating your first file, using variables, basic math, and basic IF statements (a form of logic).

What is the fastest way to learn PHP? I’ve heard it is one of the most popular scripting languages, and free to learn, but I do not have as long as it seems to take.

I suggest the w3schools dot com and their PHP tutorial. It runs on through everything from what PHP is, to the installation of the necessary software, to explanations of data types to advanced things like file handling and MySQL.

I thought MySQL was a separate database tool.

It is, but a lot of PHP websites pull data from MySQL websites, whether for a shopping cart or generating a price quote.

I’m no where near that skill level.

Learn-PHP.org has free interactive tutorials for PHP.

What do I have to download to get that to work?

Nothing, it is all through the website. However, that site is not as complete as W3schools dot com.

I want a complete resource if I can find it.

Go to the source. Start with PHP.net.

If reading all of their specification documentation taught me about the language, I’d have Java down by now, from all the time spent trying to figure it out.