This book is intended for anyone starting out with PHP programming. If you've previously worked in another programming language such as Java, C#, or Perl, you'll probably pick up the concepts in the earlier chapters quickly; however, the book assumes no prior experience of programming or of building Web applications. That said, because PHP is primarily a Web technology, it will help if you have at least some knowledge of other Web technologies, particularly HTML and CSS.

Many Web applications make use of a database to store data, and this book contains three chapters on working with MySQL databases. Once again, if you're already familiar with databases in general - and MySQL in particular - you'll be able to fly through these chapters. However, even if you've never touched a database before in your life, you should still be able to pick up a working knowledge by reading through these chapters.