What resources or books would you recommend for beginners looking to improve their PHP skills and understanding of best practices?

One great resource for beginners looking to improve their PHP skills and understanding of best practices is the book "PHP Objects, Patterns, and Practice" by Matt Zandstra. This book covers object-oriented programming in PHP, design patterns, and best practices for writing clean and maintainable code. Additionally, websites like phptherightway.com and laracasts.com offer tutorials, articles, and videos on PHP best practices and advanced topics.

// Example PHP code snippet demonstrating best practices for writing clean and maintainable code
<?php

class User {
    private $username;

    public function setUsername($username) {
        $this->username = $username;
    }

    public function getUsername() {
        return $this->username;
    }
}

$user = new User();
$user->setUsername('john_doe');
echo $user->getUsername(); // Output: john_doe
?>