Rating: 
Summary: 2nd Edition of the book is greatly reviewed
Review: After reading some of the reviews here, I was hesitant to buy the book. However, since I was already ordering several other titles through Amazon and the shipping was free I decided to take the plunge because of the overall 4-star rating.After spending a weekend reading the book and going through the examples, it seems obvious that many of the reviews I read refer to an earlier edition. The binding was solid, the typeface was good, there was a good index, and I didn't find a single typo. If mentions of those things are holding you back from buying the book, don't let them. It's obvious the publishers have taken the feedback posted here to heart in releasing the 2nd edition. As for the actual content, I found it pretty easy to follow along even though I have absolutely no database experience - Yes, I still design static HTML pages. Everything was straightforward, with relatively few snags. I do agree with the reviews here that this book isn't for advanced PHP coders (they'll be dissapointed). But newbies looking for a beginner, hand-holding book will love this title and will probably go onto purchasing more advanced PHP & MySQL books in the future. I highly recommend it!
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth the price, though worth buying?
Review: I am an absolute beginner when it comes to php/mysql, so my review should be helpful to the majority of people considering this book. I decided to buy it after reading the positive reviews here, and while I don't wholefully regret buying it, I can certainly tell you it's not worth the $35 cost. Very first thing you should know about this book is that it's incredibly thin and small- about the size of your printer's manual, if you have one of those. So small in fact, I wasn't sure it was the book when I first received it (thought it was a booklet that came with the book). The 230 page count doesn't do this book's minute size justice. The book is written completely in a top-bottom, tutorial fashion. It builds on a single example for the most part, first telling you how to view and define your database, then slowly populate and manipulate the tables inside. Such a style means that it's hard to get left behind, even if you're the absolute beginner and non-geek. Bottom line, I did learn how to create a database and add to it dummy values using PHP through this book. If that's your stumbling block- the absolute first step- this book will help you overcome it. The book's top-bottom/single example style is its allure, though ultimately, its fatal flaw too. Now to elaborate on the reasons why "Build your own database driven site (php/mysql)" isn't all that great, and not worth the $[money]: 1) From the get-go, you can obviously tell it wasn't put together in a professional setting- lots of spelling mistakes, unprofessional font (for the example codes). "Not a big deal" I told myself as I worked my way through. However, I quickly realized the book doesn't even contain an INDEX at the end! Having read the book once already, it became a nightmare to try and quickly brush up on a particular syntax without wasting tons of time flipping through pages. I end up just going to [the website] often and looking up the syntax directly. This means the book is useful only for the first read, 2nd at most. As another irritating side note, the book is so small, I can't even get it to open up without having to press my fingers between the two covers to keep it open at all times. Otherwise, it'll just fold back up. 2) The book is truly for absolute beginners, and not just in its writing style, but amount of information contained inside as well. Having just read another beginner's book on mysql, I gradually realized just how much essential (not advanced, essential) information on mysql syntax was left out of it, info that's invaluable when you're just creating your first database. Syntax like variations of the various commands that make it so much easier to insert and modify tables, how to populate data via a text file etc, were all not included. And for the info that was there, as mentioned above, since there is no index, they're hard to look up. 3) This book is priced at $35. I guess the author thought he could get away with it, since there are currently no other php/mysql books written in such a tutorial and gentle style. Perhaps, though is that justification to price it at the highest price level of similar books, and for one that's 1/3 the size and amount of info as the rest? The amount of editing done is also significantly less than most other books (lack of index, spelling mistakes etc). I feel like being in the mix of a price fix here. The moment I saw the size of the book and to the end, I couldn't help but feel cheated, even though the info contained inside is good. Bottom line, as mentioned above, if your stumbling block at this point is the absolute first step in creating mysql databases and using php to interact with it, this book is worth getting, though not "worth it" any way you look at it. Do I have another suggestion then? Buy a couple of other beginner books on the subject first, and if you still don't get it, come to this one (buy used if possible). You're feel a lot more comfortable with your decision then, as it was your last resort anyway.
Rating:
Summary: Gold mine for MySQL and PHP applications
Review: I have been looking for a material that I can advance my background about MySQL enabled web development. This book is absolutely what I needed.
Rating: 
Summary: PHP for Dumb Me
Review: I hit on SitePoint while working on a php/mysql project for a degree I am working on. First of all I appreciated that a lot of Kevin's book was already online and that SitePoint decided to share that with neophytes like myself. Kevin has a gift for explaining clearly the theory and also for how to practically get started. I downloaded a number of classes on php during
my project but Kevin's was at the top. This in turn encouraged me to purchase the book. In this regards the ordering and delivery were very smooth even though I live in France.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent for beginners
Review: I read this book in about 2 days and have built a working database for the web in about 3 days. This book has very good explanations and shows lines as they should basically be. I have only a few programming classes under my belt and no real-world application development and have done it! The database works well, looks great on the web and I owe it all to this book. It was much appreciated to have the "whys" answered so clearly. I would recommend this book to every php&mysql beginner.
Rating:
Summary: Straight Forward and Simple
Review: I read this book within two hours after receiving it. Kevin's writing style makes it easy to understand the concepts. Implementing what I had I read was a breeze. I am now improving existing client web sites, and creating new ones that have 10 times the functionality. The clients are happier and new ones are coming to me all of the time now.
Rating:
Summary: Second edition
Review: I recently purchased this book from sitepoint after people ranted and raved about how good it was. I can honestly say, that it is not that spectacular. There are far more other books on the subject of PHP that teach the same thing that are MUCH better than this. Sometimes when you are complete NOVICE you need a book that will "hold your hand" along the way, this book does not do that it assumes you have an idea of it already. My suggestion, is dont bother.. Look for something else instead
Rating:
Summary: Gets to the point
Review: I think the book is great and to the point, I live in Costa Rica and the book only took a
week to get here. I had a few problems getting the programs installed-but
Mr. Yank responded quickly to my inquieries. Very satisfied with your
services. William Cook
Rating:
Summary: Great Book leaves a lot to be desired for price
Review: I thought the content was great and it taught some really cool methods of building a backend that any lehman can understand and use. However, I think the price somewhat overrates the book.
Rating:
Summary: Great Intro book to PHP programming with MySQL
Review: I throughly enjoyed the book. Kevin Yank writes very well and makes the book an easy read and gets you excited about developing your own database driven application. It was just the book I was looking for to getting started with PHP and MySQL web development. I wouldn't recommend it for seasoned PHP and MySQL programmers and the book is the on thin side to be of any use as reference, but it's very excellent for beginners. I'll probably invest in a more robust PHP and MySQL web development book in the future.
| 
